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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China's leading aluminium smelters have been reported to be meeting today to discuss possible output cuts amid plunging metal prices. This is supposed to be a definitive step taken by the embattled base metals industry to mull a coordinated action plan against rising metal glut. The meeting will be held in the southwestern city of Kunming. As many as 14 smelters, including Aluminium Corp of China, known as Chalco, will meet and analyse the situation strategically. The companies will discuss cutting production among other measures, although there is no guarantee that any action will be taken, the report said.
The state-owned aluminium maker national aluminium Company (Nalco) on Friday, last week, named five independent directors on its board. "Part-time non-official (independent) directors have been appointed on the board of the company with effect from November 21, 2015, vide order dated November 17, 2015," Nalco said in a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange. The appointees are Damodar Acharya, Dipankar Mahanta, P K Nayak, Maheswar Sahu and S Sankararaman, the filing said. Last month, Coal India had also appointed five independent directors out of seven posts that had been lying vacant for over a year. As per the diversification plan, Nalco has ventured into renewable energy space, its website showed.
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium smelters, continues to look forward as the company prepares for future growth according to a statement issued by the Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa. The statement was made following the fourth quarterly meeting for the year 2015, which was held on Wednesday, December 09, 2015 at Alba. The Board approved minutes of the previous meeting, which was held on September 30, 2015 as well as discussed matters arising from the same. At this meeting, the Board reviewed and approved the 2016 Annual Operating Plan which is forecasting a very difficult year as a result of the collapse of the All-In-Aluminium prices. The Board also reviewed the2015 Corporate Governance Report and Q3...
The December Aluminium MMI index fell 3% to 70 points, yet another all-time low. Aluminium prices fell in November, although they held much better than other base metals. Still, three-month alumiinum on the London Metal Exchange hit a new low at $1,432/mt. As with the rest of the base metals complex, a strong dollar is driving prices down. China is still overproducing According to the latest data, Chinese aluminium output has risen 18% on the year to date despite falling demand. This has led to a 14% increase in aluminium exports this year (to date). One of the reasons China doesn’t cut production is its smelters’ ability to withstand low international prices. Recently, China’s government announced its plans to introduce more competition into its power sector that could potentially lower...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba), one of the leading companies in Bahrain, is a key participant and sponsor of the 2nd Energy Management Conference & Exhibition 2015 being held from December 6 to 8, 2015, at Gulf Hotel, Manama, Bahrain. Organised under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza, Minister of Energy, this conference is a leading platform for key energy consumers, producers and investors in the region to share best practices in the field of Energy. This year, many subjects such energy efficiency, renewable energies, private sector and climate change will be focussed upon. Alba’s Chief Marketing Officer, Khalid A. Latif and Director Power & Utilities, Amin Sultan, were amongst the key attendees at the 2nd Energy Management Conference & Exhibition 2015,...
Aluminium stocks in China’s five major trading markets fell for three weeks in a row as of December 3 as production cuts begin yielding fruit, SMM understands. Smelters that used to ship aluminium ingots to major consumption hubs now prefer to ship goods to regions where aluminium capacity was cut on a large scale, SMM has learned. This resulted in lower arrivals into major trading markets. The table below shows details of aluminium stocks at China’s five major markets:
Almost 32% of the 38 Chinese aluminium smelters surveyed by SMM are bullish toward this week’s aluminium prices. Another 52% expect prices to stabilize, while the rest 16% paint a gloomy picture. The optimists expect LME aluminium to return above USD 1,525/mt and SHFE 1602 aluminium to rise above RMB 10,400/mt. aluminium production cuts in China are still on the rise, as reflected in a three consecutive week of decline in aluminium stocks in China’s five major trading markets. Spot discounts in China shrank to near RMB 100/mt, due to signs of tightening supply in east China. Rumors about SRB stockpiling will also keep shorts cautious about entering. Those neutralists see SHFE 1602 aluminium hovering between RMB 10,200-10,400/mt, and USD 1,500-1,525/mt for LME aluminium. They see negative...
Metal manufacturing firms in Ghana, which include small to medium sized aluminium smelters, continue to record losses in their operations due to a host of factors including the hostile exchange rate market and the poor power situation in the country. According to the industry sources, the rolling power outage has had a devastating effect on firms’ administrative and operating expenses as well as their cost of sales. This is evident in the negative growth of the manufacturing sector for the first half of 2015, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. Aluminium smelter, Aluworks is one of the latest firms to register losses in their third quarter financials. Aluworks registered a loss of GH¢9.6 million at the end of September 2015, compared with a loss of GH¢2.4 million the same period...
LME aluminium faces a resistance at $1,518 per tonne, a break above which could lead to a gain to the next resistance at $1,544. These resistances are provided respectively by the 38.2 percent and the 50 percent Fibonacci retracements on the fall from the September 9 high of $1,655.50 to the November 23 low of $1,432.50. It seems the metal was unable to break $1,518 this time and may retrace to a support at $1,485, the 23.6 percent level, or at least hover below $1,518 for one day. A rise to $1,524 could confirm a break above this resistance.
According to China Customs, China imported 34,900 mt of primary aluminium in October, up from September’s 10,600 mt. The month-on-month growth is driven by a significant growth of imports under tolling trade. Primary aluminium imported under tolling trade came mainly from Iran, New Zealand and Australia. Imports under general trade were a mere 10,000 mt. aluminium premiums in Japan remained between USD 80-90/mt in October. Overseas institutions see no sharp drop in Japan aluminium premiums in the short term. China will maintain a 17% VAT on primary aluminium imports. These factors will act as constraint on primary aluminium imports.
Anil Agarwal, the founder and Chairman of Vedanta Resources Plc., in a freewheeling discussion on India's industrial development and inclusive growth process, said in his signature unabashed style, “It is vital for a nation to develop its natural resources. If a nation is to develop above the ground, it needs to develop the resources it has under the ground." A nation, he stressed, cannot develop if it imports vital resources. He points out that a single aluminium processing factory can support hundreds of small businesses. “We make ingots, but there will be factories that will make sheets, foil and even aluminium that is used in advance processes like car chassis’ now. India has large reserves of high-quality bauxite, yet our market is being inundated with cheap Chinese aluminium.” Mr....
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium smelters, today, December 06, 2015 welcomed a VIP delegation from the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) comprising its Chairman, Engr. Abdullah Al-Saif and President, Engr. Abdulaziz Al Harbi. Ma’aden’s VIP delegation met with Alba’s Chairman of Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray, Chief Finance Officer, Ali Al Baqali, Chief Operations Officer, Isa Al-Ansari, Chief Marketing Officer, Khalid Abdul Latif and other Alba officials. The visit was to build upon existing relations between the two smelters and share information on ways to work together towards a successful future in the aluminium sector. Speaking about this visit, Alba’s Chairman Sh. Daij said:...
Rio Tinto will today provide an update on the significant progress being made on costs and productivity in its Aluminium business and unveil further detail on the recently approved Amrun bauxite project which positions Rio Tinto as the industry-leading supplier of bauxite. By the end of 2015, the Aluminium product group will have delivered around $300 million of cash cost improvements, a reduction of $45 million in sustaining capex and cut working capital by around $400 million versus 2014. Cash remains a key focus, and the momentum in operating cost reductions continues through a broad range of initiatives that should remove around $300 million in additional cash costs from the product group in 2016, excluding any impact from currency or oil. Further improvements will also be made in...
SHFE aluminium will outperform LME aluminium this week on positive news from China, SMM expects. Capacity cuts in Chinese aluminium market are intensifying, which will cheer market up. This will push SHFE aluminum up to 10,300-10,500 yuan per tonne, SMM predicts. A firmer US dollar amid high expectations for US rate hike will keep LME aluminium in check between $1,470-1,500 per tonne. In China’s spot market, falling stocks will help narrow spot discounts to less than 100 yuan per tonne over SHFE front-month contrat.
Another Chinese firm is all set to start building its smelter come January. Shandong Nanshan Aluminium, China's second-largest aluminum producer, has been reported to be mulling over construction on its $2 billion manufacturing complex in Bintan, Riau Islands, early next year. The company is set to build a smelter, dams and a 2,800-megawatt power plant to produce aluminium ingots, powder, foil and sheet, Riau interim governor Agung Mulyana said on Thursday. "It has been decided that we will establish a 2,000-hectare industrial complex in Bintan," he said, adding that the company would source bauxite from Kalimantan. The plant is estimated to create between 7,000 to 9,000 jobs for local residents and 2,000 positions to be filled by foreign workers. Earlier reports suggested that Nanshan...
Aluminium along with other base metals rose on Friday, last week, as nervous investors bought back short ositions ahead of a U.S. jobs report and an OPEC meeting result. Prices of aluminium that have been plummeting since for last few months surged to week highs. Analysts expect that data later on Friday will show U.S. job growth remained solid in November, which could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month for the first time in nearly a decade. "People seem to be pre-positioning ahead of non-farm payrolls and OPEC, in case they throw up surprises," said Robin Bhar, head of metals research at Societe Generale in London. "We've already had one surprise (with the ECB) so the market is cautious and people are covering shorts, especially since it's Friday."...
The Mines Ministry of India has asked the Finance Ministry to hike import duty on aluminium to 7.5 per cent to protect domestic industry from cheaper metal imports from countries like China. The import duty on aluminium at present is 5 per cent. "The Mines Ministry has written to the Finance Ministry to hike the import duty on aluminium to 7.5 per cent from 5 per cent," said Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar. Kumar said the proposal has been made to protect the interests of the domestic industry which is faced with cheaper imports. Aluminium industry leaders recently met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and requested him to raise import duty on the metal to check cheap imports from China, a scenario that can impact investments worth INR 1.2 lakh crore. The delegation from industry body...
CME Group, a leading derivatives marketplace, is utilizing Platts physical market price assessments to settle and clear a new aluminum Japan futures contract launched today. Platts is a leading global provider of energy, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark price assessments. “As an independent provider of aluminum price benchmarks for several decades, we’re pleased to have exchanges such as CME Group recognize the reputation we’ve won in the marketplace and the role we play in price discovery by bringing greater transparency to the physical markets,” said Andrew Goodwin, Platts general manager of metals, petrochemicals and agriculture. The Platts CIF Japan Spot Premium for Aluminum assessment, published daily in the real-time news, information and analysis...
