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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Spot aluminum prices in China will draw support since buying will pick up before upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese National Day holiday (Oct. 1-7), says Shanghai Metals Market (SMM). Spot discounts of 50 yuan per tonne are expected over Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) 1510 aluminum. Aluminum on London Metal Exchange (LME) might hold between $1,600-1,630 per tonne until market trend clears up. SHFE 1512 aluminum, the most active contract, could hover around 12,000 yuan per tonne.
Bosnian aluminium smelter Aluminij Mostar returned to profit in the first half after a deal to settle debts helped it stabilise production. The smelter, which is due to be privatised, reported first-half profit of 7.5 million Bosnian marka ($4.3 million) compared with a loss of 49.1 million marka for the whole of 2014. It did not provide figures for the first half of last year. Aluminij, which is among Bosnia's top exporters, has narrowly avoided closure several times over debt that hit 230 million marka last year. But a debt settling deal arranged last September by the government of Bosnia's autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation with state-owned power board EPHZHB has enabled it to stop accumulating new debt and stabilise production. Like other smelters across the world, Aluminij has been...
Indian aluminium major National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) will spend around INR 1,000 crore for developing Utkal D and E coal blocks allocated to it recently. Both the coal blocks are located in the vicinity of Nalco's 0.46 million tonne aluminium smelting facility at Angul. "The company will spend about INR 1,000 crore in next two to three years for the development of two coal blocks. The amount includes INR 128 crore already spent on the development of the Utkal E block", T K Chand, chairman cum managing director, Nalco told media persons on the sidelines of an event here. The Utkal E block was allotted to the navratna PSU ( public sector undertaking) by the Centre in 2004. But the block stood de-allocated after the Supreme Court order that cancelled allocation of 204 coal blocks....
Goldman Sachs sees limited impact on National Aluminium Company 's (Nalco) costs and utilisation after the government has allocated two coal blocks in Odisha to it. The Centre has allocated Utkal D and E coal blocks to the aluminium major, which had already set up a 4.6 lakh tonne smelter and 1,200 MW Captive Power Plant in Odisha's Angul district. "Nalco will use coal from these blocks for its captive power plant and will have to surrender an equal amount of linkage coal in lieu of this. Hence, we see limited impact on costs and utilisation," Goldman Sachs says in a note. However, the brokerage expects cost savings of about INR 527 per tonnes of coal, around INR 210 crore annually. According to Goldman's estimates there is a limited potential valuation upside with a further capex of INR...
Vertically integrated bauxite-aluminum-processing industry is developing in full swing in Binzhou City, Shandong Province, China’s major aluminum producing region, industry insiders reported. Annual primary aluminum capacity in the city has soared from 33,000 tonnes over a decade ago to current 6.36 million tonnes. The city has an annual aluminum processing capacity of 4.2 million tones, the sources said. According to the sources, local smelters enjoy lower costs than most other counterparts in the country, allowing local aluminum industry to boom.
A U.S. aluminum industry body has called on federal authorities to investigate allegations that Chinese producers of the metal are improperly labeling their exports, flooding the market and driving down global prices. Aluminum producers in the United States have alleged that the Chinese have mislabeled exports as semi-fabricated aluminum in order to evade an export tax on primary aluminum. These products, the U.S. producers say, are often re-melted into primary aluminum further along in the supply chain. The complaint by the Aluminum Association was sent in a letter dated Sept 4 to a unit of the U.S. Trade Representative. Aluminum Association Vice President for Policy Charles Johnson asked Interagency Trade Enforcement Center Director Bradford Ward to look into allegations that the...
The share price of National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has surged 30 per cent after it hit an almost two-year low of INR 28 on August 25, following a rout in metal stocks on concerns over Chinese slowdown. Though China still remains a concern, analysts say current aluminium prices are factoring in too much pessimism, and ignoring fundamentals, and hence should rebound. Further, for Nalco, the good news is allocation of Utkal D and E coal blocks in Odisha. The Utkal E block was held by Nalco since 2004, and the company had spent INR 126 crore on its development (including INR 98 crore on compensation for land acquisition). The block had got de-allocated following a Supreme Court order. Thus, its re-allocation, along with another block, is a positive for Nalco, and will help contain costs....
Aluminium futures today traded 0.42 per cent lower at INR 106.75 per kg as speculators reduced their positions amid weak global cues. Furthermore, subdued demand in the domestic spot market also weighed. At Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in September eased 45 paise, or 0.42 per cent, to INR 106.75 per kg in a business turnover of 185 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in October traded lower by 30 paise, or 0.28 per cent, to INR 107.55 per kg in nine lots. Market analysts said the weakness in aluminium is mostly in tune with a downtrend in base metals at the London Metal Exchange (LME) as investors weighed China's economic slowdown and global disruptions to supply ahead of the Fed meet on rates.
According to a new study by three consultants, AZ China, Cascade Resources and Turner Mason and Co., titled "Anode coke outlook to 2025," anode grade petroleum coke is going to play a key role in reining in the excess production of primary aluminium that has been pulling down the global aluminium prices for a while now. Petroleum coke, also known as petcoke, is a by-product of the oil refining process; and anode-grade petcoke is that variety, which contains less than three percent of sulphur. Petcoke is an important raw material in the aluminium production process. It is used as carbon anode in the Hall-Heroult aluminium process. There are two dominant suppliers of anode coke to the world's smelters, the United States and China. Output in both is declining. In the U.S. this is largely a...
Synthesis Energy Systems, Inc., a global energy and gasification technology company enabling clean, high-value energy and chemical products from multiple feedstocks, reports a progress update from its Tianwo-SES Clean Energy Technologies Company Joint Venture in China. The second of three previously announced natural gas replacement projects under construction for Aluminum Corporation of China Limited, located in Xing County, Shanxi Province, has completed installation of the facility's single SES Gasification Technology system. The project team is commencing the first heat-up of the gasifier for the refractory curing period. The start-up of the gasifier is expected later this year. In addition to Shanxi, the first of the three Chalco projects located in Zibo City, Shandong Province, is...
For the fourteenth year in a row, lightweight metals leader Alcoa has been named as one of the world’s leading companies for sustainability on the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI)—a globally recognized and reputable benchmark for corporate responsibility and sustainability. Alcoa was again recognized as the Aluminum Industry Leader on the Dow Jones World Index. “Sustainability guides everything we do, from creating innovative solutions that help de-carbonize our world and create value for customers, to improving the sustainability of our own manufacturing processes,” said Kevin McKnight, Alcoa’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety. “The progress we continue to make demonstrates that we live our sustainability value every...
The challenging conditions in the commodities market, particularly the aluminium sector, will impact Hindalco's performance in the short term, said Hindalco Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla. Birla, also the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, said improved aluminium fundamentals and large-scale smelting curtailment by global majors have supported the recovery in aluminium price. "The commodity markets, in particular the aluminium industry, are going through a challenging phase at present because of the sharp slide in realisations. This would impact Hindalco's performance in the near term," said Birla at Hindalco's AGM. He, however, said the firm is all set to capitalise on the growth opportunities such as growing urbanisation, light weight of vehicles and growth in emerging markets. "2015-16...
China will pare down its aluminium smelting capacity, should global prices of aluminum remain low over the long term, opined Rusal President Oleg Djeripaska. With stringent environmental protection laws in place, energy-intensive and high carbon footprint industrial activities like aluminium smelting will face a setback leading to cost escalation. As a result, primary aluminium makers might be forced to shut down the smelters, said Oleg Djeripaska. Global aluminum prices plummeted to hit a six-year low on global surplus.
After threatening to pull its proposed INR 30, 000 crore project for setting up an aluminium smelter and a power plant at Darlipali in Sundargarh district out of Odisha, public sector behemoth Nalco has now come back from the brink and agreed to have it at the place decided. The rapprochement came after a discussion between Odisha industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra and Nalco Chief Managing Director Tapan Chand, sources in the state government said. The two discussed the Navaratna company’s investment plans in the state and the bottlenecks the company is facing while trying to implement them. The Minister assured Chand all possible assistance from the government in carrying out its investment plans in the state, which also includes the expansion of its Damanjodi facility, the sources...
LME aluminum fell to USD 1,590/mt on Tuesday, but then bounced back to above USD 1,600/mt on exit of shorts. Finally, LME aluminum ended at USD 1,617.5/mt. Trading volumes were up 6,470 lots to 16,553 lots, and positions were down 4,375 to 828,000. It’s worth noting that LME aluminum inventories surged 87,500 mt to 3,263,375 mt. The growth was contributed by Singapore and Port Kelang Malaysia, where inventories increased 27,775 mt and 67,925 mt, respectively. SHFE 1511 aluminum tracked LME aluminum up during Tuesday’s night session, but met resistance at RMB 11,940/mt. The most active contract should range RMB 11,900-12,000/mt on Wednesday. In China’s spot market, SHFE 1510 aluminum has become the front-month contract today. Spot discounts might widen to RMB 80-40/mt over SHFE 1510...
Hurt by spate of cheaper imports and plummeting LME (London Metal Exchange) prices, Indian aluminium makers need to focus on cost competitiveness in the long run to compete against their global counterparts, observe analysts. Aluminium producers like National Aluminium Company (Nalco), Hindalco Industries and Vedanta have been pressing for hike in import duty to 10 per cent (from five per cent now) to counter the threat from rising imports from China and West Asia. Also, falling metal prices have eroded their competitive edge, forcing them to keep half of their capacities idle. "Increase in import duty can provide an immediate relief to Indian aluminium producers but in the longer run, cost competitiveness is important. Two key input costs are energy cost and bauxite cost. With all key...
The Arab International Aluminium Conference "ARABAL" organized by the Saudi Arabian Mining Company from 15 - 17 November in Dhahran International Exhibitions Center, Eastern Province, will discuss the integration of the aluminium upstream and downstream sectors throughout the GCC. On the first day of the conference the CEOs of the Gulf companies will examine the current situation of aluminium markets and investment opportunities in the Gulf region as well as market analysis, research the sustainability of the industry and discuss the challenges facing investors. The second day of the conference will focus on the aluminium industry’s best practices in environment, health and safety, as well as operational excellence, productivity, innovation and technology. Day three will provide a...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium smelters, is the gold sponsor for the third Middle East Process Engineering Conference & Exhibition (MEPEC), on September 15-17 at the Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre (BIECC) under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa the Prime Minister, MEPEC's theme is ‘Delivering Process Efficiency through Innovation and Value Creation’. Alba, through its sponsorship and participation in MEPEC, aims to support innovations and developments in the field of process engineering, as well as meet and interact with potential trade partners in the field of chemical and process engineering. Speaking about Alba’s support for MEPEC 2015, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said:...
