Bell Bay Aluminium (BBA), Australia's oldest aluminium smelter, is reviewing its workforce and offering redundancies for a small number of positions, just over a month after receiving an AUD 200 million (USD 137.52 million) government support package aimed at securing the facility's future until at least 2031. Up to 10 roles are understood to have been affected by the review, although the smelter is expected to retain its existing workforce of approximately 550 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. Some redeployment opportunities will also be available, while the positions identified are not understood to involve frontline services. The changes reportedly include some former participants in Bell Bay Aluminium's graduate programme. Rio Tinto, which operates the smelter near George Town in...
South32 expects the sale of its aluminium value chain assets to Alcoa to be completed in the six months ending June 2027. The proposed transaction covers its aluminium operations and related bauxite and alumina assets in South Africa, Australia and Brazil. The sale follows a binding conditional agreement signed by the two companies, under which Alcoa agreed to acquire the assets for up to USD 5.6 billion . The assets include South32's Hillside Aluminium smelter and the idled Bayside smelter in South Africa, its interests in the Boddington bauxite mine and Worsley alumina refinery in Australia, and the Mineração Rio do Norte bauxite mine and Alumar alumina refinery and aluminium smelter in Brazil. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our...
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Chalco has made substantial progress in its energy use reduction efforts, hexun.com reported. The Chinese aluminum giant has saved 3.65 million tonnes of coal equivalent (TCE) since 2011, the media added. So far, Chalco has reported a 28.35% decline in total energy consumption per tonne of alumina produced, and a 2.77% decline in AC power consumption per tonne of aluminum produced, the media said. These figures well beat the State Council’s requirements of a 2.5% cut and a 1.65% and reduction, respectively.
SHFE aluminum will continue faring better than LME aluminum next week on huge scale output cut plans in China, SMM expects. The announcement by 14 major Chinese aluminum smelters that aluminum capacity cuts in China will expand to 4.91 million-tpy in 2015 cheered market up. This will push SHFE aluminum up to 11,000 yuan per tonne. LME aluminum will find support from SHFE aluminum while facing selling pressure at highs from a firm dollar. LME aluminum should test resistance at $1,530/mt next week. In China’s spot market, supply will tighten further as no large arrivals are expected for the near future. Spot discounts should narrow to less than 100 yuan per tonne over SHFE front-month contract since delivery date is nearing.
Brazil's primary aluminum production fell 20.5% through November to 708,500t, local Aluminum Association Abal reported. Primary aluminum output in November dipped 11.5% year-on-year to 69,300t. Brazilian production of the metal began declining in March 2014 and has yet to bounce back. For full-year 2014, output totaled 962,000t. The latest production statistics reflect plant curtailments and shutdowns in Brazil, as the country shifts from being a leading aluminum exporter to a net importer of the metal. Aluminum's low price on the international market and Brazil's high energy costs are factors behind the trend. Abal comprises CBA, part of local conglomerate Votorantim; Alcoa; BHP Billiton; and aluminum producers Albras, Hindalco and Novelis.
Century Aluminum began closing its Goose Creek plant Monday, a move expected to put 600 people out of work eventually. The company started to shut down one of the two lines that make aluminum at the plant, Century spokeswoman Samantha Dubay said. The first layoffs will come next week, with about half of the plant's employees affected by the initial line closure, Dubay said. The company announced in October that it would close the plant by year's end unless it was able to reach a new power contract with Santee Cooper, South Carolina's state-owned utility. Century proposed buying all its power from an out-of-state provider and paying Santee Cooper to transmit it. Santee Cooper said it could not agree to a rate that would increase costs for its other industrial customers. Rep. Bill Crosby,...
The Mozal Aluminium company was considered the largest company in Mozambique in 2014, according to the 17th edition of the list compiled by consulting firm KPMG Moçambique. KPMG analysed the performance over 2014 of the largest companies in the country through criteria such as turnover, profitability of the company and its financial autonomy, a list intended to choose the biggest and best company. In addition to Mozal Aluminium, re-elected as the largest company, the report points to the Mozambican subsidiary of South African group Grindrod as the best company in the country, with growth of 43.14 percent between 2013 and last year. The highlights of list of the ten largest companies in Mozambique, according to KPMG, are oil company Petróleos de Mozambique (Petromoc) in second place, beer...
UAE-based Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) recently co-hosted and presented 10 of its authored papers at the annual conference for the International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina and Aluminium (ICSOBA) in Dubai, UAE. The summit marked the first time the conference has been hosted in the UAE, and it successfully gathered key industry players from around the world who exchanged insights in the areas of bauxite exploration and mining as well as alumina and aluminium production, said EGA in a statement. Over 200 delegates from 38 countries attended the event, and the agenda featured a total of 86 papers covering the various fields of the aluminium industry from bauxite to metal, it added. Dr Ali Al Zarouni, honorary president of ICSOBA and EGA's senior vice president, Jebel Ali...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium smelters, Chief Executive Officer Tim Murray delivered a keynote address at the American Chamber of Commerce in Bahrain’s Business Networking Luncheon, which was held at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay on Tuesday, December 08, 2015, The luncheon was attended by the US Ambassador William Roebuck and leading businessmen and businesswomen representing some of the over 200 US businesses in Bahrain as well as the many Bahraini companies with US business interests. Murray, in his address to the audience, highlighted several points in relation to the Aluminium industry, Alba’s Project Titan and focussed in particular on Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project, including its total cost, outputs and impacts. He said: “Line 6 Expansion...
China's top aluminium smelters will reduce capacity by 500,000 tonnes by year-end, taking total capacity cuts for 2015 to just under 5 million tonnes in a bid to whittle down a domestic supply glut, a major trade association said on Friday, December 11. In a statement following a meeting of 14 major producers including Aluminium Corp of China (Chalco) in Yunnan province on Thursday, China's Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) said the producers had also pledged not to open any new capacity for at least one year or to reopen any idled capacity. China's metals industry has been blighted by overcapacity as the world's No.2 economy slows, sending international prices plunging, with benchmark aluminium down by a quarter since May. Some 4.41 million tonnes of capacity has been cut so...
Chalco plans to sell 50% stake in Shanxi Huaxing Aluminum Co. for at least 2.35 billion yuan ($364 million), the company said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on December 9. Chalco added that the move aims to draw strategic investors to jointly build its coal-electricity-aluminium integrated industry base in Shanxi province. At present, Chalco holds a 60% stake in Shanxi Huaxing Aluminum and the rest 40% by its fully owned subsidiary Chalco Hong Kong. Shanxi Huaxing Aluminum, located in Xing County, Shanxi, mainly engages in alumina refining.
The value of the US dollar has been dropping since February 2015. In October-November period it hit the lowest against the Euro before making a turnaround last week. Indices that compare the dollar against a basket of major currencies have reflected the same trend. Metal prices typically follow an inverse relationship with the value of the dollar. When the dollar appreciates against other major currencies, metal prices tend to drop. When the value of the dollar weakens, metal prices generally go up. This connection between base metals and US dollar index somewhat weakened in China. Although crude oil prices hit the lowest in nearly seven years to USD 37/bbl, and the US dollar index rebounded after touching low, SHFE alumininum closed up 3.36%. News on production cuts and stockpiling in...
Aluminium fell on Thursday on disappointment over the scope of production cutbacks in China while a firmer dollar also weighed on the industrial metals market. Chinese aluminium producers look to combat a slump in local prices to record lows; but analysts said much more was needed to curb an over supplied market that has led to global inventories surging to record highs. "There may be some capacity cuts in China, but it's all a bit meaningless. We think there was somewhere between 1.6 and 2.5 million tonnes of new capacity commissioned this quarter," said an analyst at Citigroup in London. "There may be production cuts at some smelters, but they're ramping up elsewhere, so overall they're not cutting production, There seems to be a lot of sleight of hand," he said. Three-month aluminium...
The duty unpaid premium, as per a leading industry watcher, in Rotterdam was quoted at $115 per metric ton on December 8. Aluminium premiums in Europe rose sharply after hitting their historic low of $65 per ton in September. US (SPY) Midwest aluminium premiums are also holding steady after Alcoa announced capacity curtailments last month. LME contracts The LME (London Metals Exchange) also started aluminium premiums contracts to enable market participants to hedge the all-in aluminium prices. Aluminium premiums have been less volatile compared to aluminium prices. It would be interesting to see what impact the new LME contracts have on aluminium premiums. Having said that, another rise in aluminium premiums doesn’t look likely, said experts. Aluminium markets still face oversupply,...
Highlighting its commitment to industry progress, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) recently co-hosted the annual conference for the International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina and Aluminium (ICSOBA) in Dubai. The 33rd event of its kind, ICSOBA 2015 marked the first time the conference has been hosted in the UAE and successfully gathered key industry players from around the world who exchanged insights in the areas of bauxite exploration and mining as well as alumina and aluminium production. Over 200 delegates from 38 countries attended ICSOBA 2015; and the agenda featured a total of 86 papers covering the various fields of the aluminium industry from Bauxite to Metal. Dr Ali Al Zarouni (Honorary President of ICSOBA and EGA 's Senior Vice President, Jebel Ali Operations and...
Aluminium producer China Hongqiao Group said on Thursday, it will cut annual capacity by 250,000 tonnes immediately, the latest smelter to pledge to curb supplies as the loss making industry combats record low local prices. The output cut, representing 6 percent of the company's total capacity, mirrors similar moves over the past month by the other base metal industries and followed a meeting of 14 major Chinese aluminium smelters in the southwestern city of Kunming in Yunnan province. "We will not consider resuming production of the (250,000 tonnes) capacity," a China Hongqiao official told Reuters. Aluminium futures in Shanghai closed slightly higher on the news, although the reaction was largely muted as the latest cut in the world's top producing country was considered too small to...
Aluminium was notable on account of a flurry of production announcements, not all of them bullish. Alcoa, for example, said that it would take out 500,000 tons at three of its four US smelters, although its Massena smelter was saved after NY State intervened with an aid package. However, South Carolina rejected a proposal from Century for a power deal for its Mount Holly facility, so that 224,000 unit will be closing by year-end. But cuts are not happening where they should, namely, in China. Instead, the country’s SRB is being lobbied by producers to buy up to 1 million tons of metal. The move would be ill-advised in many respects. For one thing, China does not need more aluminium stored in a national stockpile. Secondly, buying metal only postpones shutting down excess capacity, thereby...
Aluminium prices edged up 0.40 per cent to INR 100.75 per kg in futures trade today as participants enlarged positions,supported by strong demand in the spot markets. However, a weak trend in the base metals pack at the London Metal Exchange (LME) capped the gains. Aluminium for delivery in January inched up 40 paise, or 0.40 per cent, to INR 100.75 per kg in a business turnover of 3 lots in futures trade at Multi Commodity Exchange. Likewise, the metal for delivery in December traded higher 30 paise, or 0.30 per cent, to INR 99.65 per kg in 88 lots. Marketmen said increased domestic demand, helped aluminium futures trade higher but metals weakness at the LME after Chinese trade data reinforced concerns over the economic deterioration of the world's biggest consumer of commodities,...
Falling official inventories of aluminium are offering a deceptive picture of stronger fundamentals, while unreported stocks are surging to record highs, threatening to weigh on already hard-hit prices. The build-up of inventories is off the radar of many investors since most are in unregistered warehouses in Malaysia and Korea and do not figure in official exchange stocks. Stocks of the metal used in transport and packaging have been steadily falling for the past 20 months in depots certified by the world's biggest and oldest market for industrial metals, the London Metal Exchange (LME). LME inventories have tumbled 46 percent since February 2014 to below three million tonnes, but much of that metal has merely been moved due to tough, new LME warehousing rules, analysts and industry...
Aluminium prices in China got an immediate boost on Wednesday as news on aluminium ingot stockpiling has been confirmed. SMM has learned that aluminium ingot stockpiling is in the cards, although who and how much to stockpile remains in the air. Major Chinese aluminium smelters have gathered together to discuss matters concerning aluminium ingot stockpiling, and the meeting result will be announced soon. In fact, aluminium supply in China is already beginning to tighten as recent production cuts have pushed down aluminum stocks in east and south China, major consumption hubs. This, together with stockpiling, will continue offering upward momentum to aluminium prices in the near future, SMM expects. SHFE 1512 aluminium contract closed at 10,390 yuan per tonne as of November 9.
