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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Surcharges for physical delivery of aluminum in Europe leveled off after recent gains and may come under pressure from additional supply if Chinese exports rebound and some inventories are liquidated. The surcharges, or premiums, which consumers pay on top of the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price for immediate delivery of metal, have gradually climbed over the past couple of months amid tighter availability, says SMM.
ALUMINUM USA, which celebrated its premiere at the Cobo Convention Center in Detroit from November 11-12, 2015, was a success with good prospects for the future. 172 exhibitors from 20 countries showcased lightweight manufacturing solutions. Besides key US players, numerous companies from Canada, Europe and Asia attended at ALUMINUM USA – from suppliers of raw material, semi-finished and finished to producers of machinery, plant and equipment for aluminium processing and manufacturing. 920 visitors from the aluminium industry as well as the automotive, transport, building and packaging industries, came to the first edition. The exhibitors were practically unanimous in their conclusions: with ALUMINUM USA, a new trade fair was launched that has the potential for long-term success. “The...
China signaled it’s prepared to curb aluminium production to try to stem oversupply as part of an agreement with Russia. The Sino-Russian protocol on energy cooperation, signed November 16 by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, includes a section on bringing aluminium output into line with demand, as per industry reports. It also supports tie-ups between Russia’s United Co. Rusal and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., or Chalco, on developing mining and new alloys. “China is finally ready to review its policy in aluminium and help to stabilize the market after the price declined to the level where all of its aluminium producers are working below break-even," Rusal’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Oleg Mukhamedshin said in a phone interview from...
The government is considering raising import duty on aluminium products by as much as five per cent, among other policy measures, to tackle unabated import of cheap products adversely impacting the sector. "Domestic industry is going through tough a time. Some firms have approached the Directorate General of Safeguards for a hike in safeguard duty. "If it doesn't happen, we in our pre-budget consultation with finance ministry will propose," said Balvinder Kumar, mines secretary. He said the government was aware of the situation the industry is going through and would take appropriate measures. When asked on the duty hike, he said, "We will propose to raise it to 7.5 or 10 per cent from the present five per cent." Sources said mining conglomerate Vedanta has approached the Directorate...
Lukewarm aluminium prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) has prompted diversified metals major Vedanta to hold back a plan to scale up its smelter capacity at Jharsuguda in Odisha from 0.5 million tonnes per annum to 0.8 mtpa. Earlier this month, LME aluminium prices went below $1,500 a tonne on weak demand and excess supply from China. With no quick recovery in sight and concern on a further dip, Vedanta is being cautious. “In the current scenario, we don't think it would be prudent and viable to ramp up smelter capacity. Aluminium prices are at multi-year lows and are expected to plunge further. Unless prices rebound to $1,600 a tonne, we might not consider expansion at the Jharsuguda smelter,” said Abhijit Pati, chief executive officer (aluminium) at Vedanta. Vedanta erected two...
China’s aluminum stocks stopped growing and fell 37,000 tonnes on a monthly basis as of November 12. However, this slump is unlikely to indicate at a turnaround in market fundamentals. Market players should be aware that aluminum stocks are actually well above 340,000 tonnes seen a year ago, said industry experts. Shanghai Metal Market analysts attribute the fall mainly to production cuts, growing consumption nearby processors and falling arrivals due to snow in northwest China. Falling supply from production cuts will be quickly filled up by growing new capacity. Year-end cash crunch will curtail consumption. As such, inventories will remain at current highs for the rest of the year, SMM predicts.
The member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are making great strides in aluminium production. Together accounting for 15 per cent of global aluminium production, they are making significant headway, while simultaneously focusing on cost rationalisation and productivity enhancement. Abdulaziz A Al Harbi, Ma’aden Aluminium’s president, said recently, GCC aluminium producers were cashing in high on factors like availability quality bauxite and moderate power tariffs to boost their smelting capacity. He noted that Ma’aden seeks to have a full production chain starting from extracting raw materials to producing final products. He said this while elaborating on Saudi Arabia’s plans to diversify the economic base and expand investments in non-oil industries, such as the...
Aluminium producers in India, raising prices to compensate for the expensive coal they have to buy from the open market after losing captive coal blocks in a Supreme Court order last year, may be turning uncompetitive in the global market, said analysts. The situation is expected to worsen once coal linkages allotted to these producers expire. On 24 September 2014, the Supreme Court cancelled coal blocks allotted to private companies, including Vedanta Ltd and Hindalco Industries Ltd. Since then, coal blocks are being auctioned as part of a new policy intended to ensure better price discovery for natural resources. Besides, coal linkages allotted to aluminium manufacturers expire by 2018—raising costs further as firms bid to retain their raw material linkages. “Indian aluminium...
Trading inventories in China’s domestic aluminium market are expected to remain high in the coming 5 months, Shanghai Metals Market expected at the annual summit in Shanghai. “No big drop in aluminium inventories is expected in China’s domestic trading market from November to next March, and high inventories will be continuing pressuring aluminium prices ,” SMM aluminium analyst predicted at the summit held on Nov. 12-13. According to SMM data, spot aluminium stocks s in five major trading regions, including Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanhai, Hangzhou, and Gongyi reached up to 968,000 tonnes last Thursday. “The impact of production cuts at Chinese aluminium producers should not be overestimated unless large-scale closures, and it is normal to see production cuts or suspension at high-cost production...
Aluminium prices were down 0.26% to INR 96.70 per kg in futures trade today as investors cut down their bets amid weak global cues and sluggish demand in the domestic spot markets. In futures trading at the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in current month eased by 25 paise, or 0.26%, to INR 96.70 per kg in a business turnover of 84 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in December contract was trading lower by 25 paise, or 0.25%, at INR 98.25 per kg in five lots. Marketmen said the weakness in aluminium at futures trade was mostly in tune with a weak trend at London Metal Exchange (LME) where most industrial metals slumped to multi-year lows on concerns over faltering Chinese demand and the dollar traded at its strongest in more than a decade.
CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced it will expand its base metals offering with the introduction of a new Aluminum Japan Premium (Platts) futures contract to begin trading on 7 December 2015. Pending relevant regulatory review periods, the new contract will be available for trading on CME Globex and for submission for clearing through CME ClearPort, and will be listed with and subject to the rules and regulations of COMEX. "This new contract complements our offering of U.S. and European aluminum premium futures contracts, and enables market participants to hedge their exposure to the Asian aluminum premium," said Young-Jin Chang, Senior Director of Metals Products, CME Group. "Market participants in Asia have demanded a solution in...
Surcharges for physical aluminium in Europe levelled off after recent gains and may come under pressure from additional supply if Chinese exports rebound and some inventories are liquidated. The surcharges, or premiums, which consumers pay on top of the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price for immediate delivery of metal, have gradually climbed over the past couple of months amid tighter availability. European premiums were quoted at $160-$170 a tonne for duty-paid material in Rotterdam, recovering from $115-$135 in September and from a peak of $500 in November 2014. "They're (premiums) just starting to come under pressure. For the rest of the year, we see them coming down slightly," a European trader said. The rise in premiums was partly driven by a fall in imports of aluminium from...
Innovation is one of the key corporate principles of Emirates Global Aluminium, the region's largest aluminium producer. Indeed, it is largely through innovation that EGA has been able to sustain and grow its business over the past four decades. Fully supporting the innovation strategies of the leadership of the UAE, the technologies developed in-house by EGA have made the company a respected competitor in the global aluminium industry and helped solidify its position as the nation's industrial flagship. EGA's core operating assets are Dubai Aluminium ("DUBAL" also known as EGA Jebel Ali) and Emirates Aluminium ("EMAL" or EGA Al Taweelah) whose combined production is 2.4 million tonnes per annum, ranking EGA among the five largest primary aluminium producers in the world. From the first...
Alro SA,one of the largest aluminium producers in Central and Eastern Europe, registered an adjusted net profit of RON 145 million in the first nine months of 2015, compared to a adjusted net loss of RON 115 million in the similar period of 2014. The company’s turnover was of RON 1.77 billion, compared to RON 1.44 billion in 9M2014. Financial and operational highlights: • Turnover of RON 1.77 billion, as compared to RON 1.44 billion in 9M 2014 • Increased sales revenue by 23% • Increased primary aluminium production to 203,100 tonnes, from 194,300 • Processed aluminium production of 59,800 tonnes, from 59,200 tonnes “The financial results obtained by Alro in the first nine months of this year are a clear signal that the strategy that we have been applying for over 10 years is the correct...
Russian aluminium giant Rusal plans to decide in mid-December which aluminium smelters to suspend as a part of its plans to potentially cut up to 200,000 tonnes of production, Chief Executive Vladislav Soloviev told reporters on Tuesday. Rusal, the world's top aluminium producer, is looking to cut production, under pressure from sliding prices due to a market surplus. "We have not decided yet. We are now looking at KUBAL," Soloviev said. KUBAL, the sole producer of primary aluminium and the largest industrial facility in Sweden, has annual production capacity of 128,000 tonnes of aluminium. "We will take a decision along with the business plan in December," Soloviev said. He added that apart from KUBAL, Rusal was looking at the Kandalaksha smelter in North-Western Russia with annual...
Vedanta was upgraded by an international investment research firm from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday. The brokerage currently has a $6.25 price target on the stock. The firm's price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.82% from the stock’s previous close. According to the brokerage firm, “Vedanta Limited is a natural resource company. The company’s business primarily involves exploring, extracting and processing minerals and oil & gas. Its segments include zinc, oil & gas, lead, silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium and commercial power. The company operates primarily in India, South Africa, Namibia, Ireland, Australia, Liberia and Sri Lanka. Vedanta Limited, formerly known as Sesa Sterlite Limited, is based in Panaji, India. “ Shares of Vedanta...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba), a leading aluminium smelter in the world, is a key participant and gold sponsor of the 19th edition of the Arab International Aluminium Conference and Exhibition (ARABAL), the most important trade event for the aluminium industry in the Middle East. Hosted by Maíaden in Dammam, Saudi Arabia from November 15 to 17, 2015, ARABAL 2015 event focuses on the integration of the aluminium upstream and downstream sectors throughout the GCC, and combines an international exhibition and strategic conference with participation from leading aluminium smelters in the world. Alba is participating as one of the pioneering aluminium smelting companies in the Middle East, and will be showcasing its portfolio of high-grade aluminium products, and highlighting its quality...
Aluminium Bahrain ( Alba ), owner of one of the world's largest smelters of the lightweight metal, will start the process for a potential bond sale in the first quarter of 2016, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday, November 12. In June, the state-backed company received government approval to raise its annual output by 514,000 tonnes to 1.45 million tones via a $3.5 billion plant expansion. Sources had told Reuters Alba was considering various options to fund this expansion including loans, export credit agency finance and a capital markets transaction. Alba hopes to issue a bond, CEO Tim Murray told a conference call to accompany its third-quarter results. "I don't think the (bond) offering will be in Q1 (2016) but in terms of getting the process going it will be in Q1," said...
