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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Mining giant Rio Tinto on August 6 reported a 82% drop in its first-half net profit as a supply glut and slowing demand in key market China sent iron ore prices plunging. The Anglo-Australian firm, which reports in US dollars, said net profit was $806m in the six months to June 30 from $4.4bn in the same period last year. Its underlying profit, the measure preferred by the company, was down 43% to $2.9bn. "This is a robust set of results, given the tough operating environment," Rio Tinto CE Sam Walsh said in a statement. Mr Walsh said the miner’s focus on cost-cutting had reaped savings of $641m in the six months, and it was now increasing its target to $1bn. The world’s second-largest miner is heavily reliant on iron ore, a crucial steel-making component, and added that it was expecting...
Vedanta-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco) would shut down its rolling mill at Korba, Chhattisgarh, as the crises in the company reportedly deepened following recession in the sector. The rolling mill was commissioned in 1981-82. Besides the rolling mill, the company houses ingot and wire-rod mills in the facility. The closure of rolling mill would affect about 500 employees. A Balco official, confirming the report, said, “The management has decided to shut down the rolling mill that has been the most loss-making unit.” The move was inevitable since continuing with the mill, which had been recording heavy losses for the past four years, would have pushed Balco on the verge of closure, the spokesperson added. Since the other two mills were running in profit, the management...
National Aluminium Company (Nalco), the navratna PSU, has set a target to purchase goods and services worth INR 321.50 crore from the micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in 2015-16. In percentage terms, the sourcing of goods and services from the MSEs is 25 per cent of the total annual procurement of INR 1,286 crore fixed by Nalco for the current fiscal. The annual purchase value excludes steel, cement, coal and fuel. The MSEs from which the other items will be sourced includes the units owned by SC /ST entrepreneurs, who will be supplying the company Rs 1 crore worth of goods and services in the current fiscal. Such units will account for 0.08 per cent of the total procurement. In 2014-15, the central PSU had purchased goods and services worth INR 350 crore from MSEs. It also intends to...
In trading on Thursday, shares of Aluminum Corp of China Ltd. entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $8.44 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on a scale of zero to 100. A stock is considered to be oversold if the RSI reading falls below 30. In the case of Aluminum Corp of China Ltd., the RSI reading has hit 29.8 - by comparison, the universe of metals and mining stocks covered by Metals Channel currently has an average RSI of 37.5. A bullish investor could look at ACH's 29.8 reading as a sign that the recent heavy selling is in the process of exhausting itself, and begin to look for entry point opportunities on the buy side. Looking at a chart of one year...
Global glut caused benchmark aluminium to crash on London Metal Exchange hitting a six years low at $1,576 a tonne. The metal widely used across packaging and transport sectors recouped some losses closing at $1,592.50, down 0.2 per cent. Primary aluminium exports from China surged 66 per cent in the first half of the year from the same period last year to reach 20,412 tonnes. However, what is more worrisome is the export of semi-fabricated aluminium products which has jumped a significant 44 per cent to reach 2.22 million tonnes. Vivienne Lloyd, analyst at Macquarie, expressed concern over China’s releasing of its aluminium surplus. He said, "It needs to fall towards $US1,500 to convince people smelter closures are necessary." Presently, aluminium stocks in LME approved warehouses stand...
After a sharp fall over the last one year, stocks of state-owned mining companies -NMDC and Nalco -look attractively valued for investors who prefer to buy companies with good dividend yields. Cash on the books of NMDC as on March 31, is almost half of its market cap, while in case of Nalco it is little over 50 per cent. In addition, both these firms have a strong dividend-paying history. In 2014-15, NMDC paid 56 per cent of its profits in dividend, while Nalco paid around 35 per cent in dividend. A weakness in the global iron ore and alumina prices was the key reason for the sharp fall in the stocks of these two companies. As a result, NMDC and Nalco, which supply products mainly in the domestic market, were forced to take price cuts. NMDC's stock is down 40 per cent in one year, while...
Aluminium hit a six-year low on Wednesday while other base metals also slipped as the dollar strengthened on speculation that the United States was closer to raising interest rates, a view bolstered by strong economic data. But losses were held in check after data showed activity in the services sector of China, the world's top metals consumer, expanded in July at its fastest pace in 11 months. Markets were pressured by the dollar hitting a 3-1/2 month peak against a basket of currencies after a voting member of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee expressed support for an interest rate rise in September. The dollar was also boosted by data on Wednesday showing the pace of growth in the U.S. service sector surged in July to its strongest level in a decade. A stronger dollar...
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation announced today that molten aluminum production at its New Madrid, Missouri aluminum plant is continuing at the same level as before an explosion yesterday in that facility's casthouse. Although the incident affected the company's production of extrusion billet, the company is redirecting that portion of the plant's molten aluminum output to other saleable products such as redraw rod and aluminum ingot. "We are thankful that no serious injuries occurred as a result of yesterday's incident," said Layle K. "Kip" Smith, Noranda's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are investigating the incident's cause and assessing the damage to the casthouse. Once that assessment is complete we will determine the necessary steps and timeline for restoring our...
LME aluminium has found a support at $1,603 per tonne, and may hover above this level or rebound to $1,653. The support is provided by the 100 percent Fibonacci projection level of a downward wave C, the third wave of a three-wave cycle that developed from the Sept. 2, 2014 high of $2,119. This wave may end either around this support or extend into a much lower range of $1,371-$1,459, formed by the 161.8 percent and the 138.2 percent levels. Regardless of a possible extension of this wave, aluminium may first bounce towards $1,653, the 86.4 percent level.
Alcoa ramps up its criticism of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s intervention in the London Metal Exchange's warehousing reform plan, challenging the commodity regulator's handling of the issue for a second time in as many months. In a letter late last month, Alcoa general counsel Max Laun called on CFTC chairman Timothy Massad to retract the regulator's decision to delay ruling on the LME application to register as a "foreign board of trade" in the U.S. The letter again accused the CFTC of overstepping its authority in attempting to regulate a foreign exchange as it privately pushed for the LME to introduce reforms, including a cap on rents at warehouses. The move shows rising concerns among aluminum producers about the impact of the LME rule changes on prices, which...
Aluminium settled down -0.34% at 102.55 traded under pressure from a globally oversupplied market due to Chinese exports. Three-month Lme aluminium earlier touched a six-year low at $1,601.50 a tonne, a drop of more than 20 percent since early May. The metal used in transport and packaging ended at $1,612, down from $1,618 on Friday. Slowing Chinese economy and poor market fundamentals should keep LME aluminum in check around USD 1,600/mt on Tuesday. Production cuts in China cannot offset growing new capacity and falling consumption. While LME aluminium and ShFE aluminium steadied from six-year and record lows respectively, trapped by a swelling global surplus. Also US factory activity slipped in July and consumer spending advanced at its slowest pace in four months in June, indicating...
A massive explosion rocked a southeast Missouri aluminum plant Tuesday, injuring some workers and creating a plume of smoke that could be seen for miles. The explosion and fire occurred around 12:30 p.m. at the Noranda Aluminum plant near the town of Marston in New Madrid County, about 170 miles south of St. Louis. Noranda spokesman John Parker said all workers had been accounted for and there were no life-threatening injuries. He said some people suffered what appeared to be non-critical burns and smoke inhalation. Parker said one of the injured workers was taken to a hospital for treatment. Others were treated at the scene. Parker said a molten metal explosion occurred in the cast house of the plant, where aluminum is converted into finished products. Production in the cast house has...
Chinese aluminum producers aren't curbing their output despite the metal's slump to a six-year low, suggesting the price of one of the world's most heavily-traded metals still has far to go before finding a floor. Metals producers normally usher in supply cutbacks when prices fall as hard as they have done for aluminium this year. But with a host of new cost-efficient smelters now online in China, few there are considering cutbacks. That is bad news for the broader market as surging Chinese aluminum exports in recent months have been one of the biggest drivers of the metal's price plunge. China accounts for about half of the world's aluminium production. Three-month aluminum futures are hovering near a six-year low of $US1601.50 per ton reached on Monday this week, down by nearly 13 per...
Global mining giant Rio Tinto's New Zealand subsidiary indicates that it plans to keep the country 's only aluminum smelter operating with a deal to purchase electricity beyond 2017. Meridian Energy, a state-controled power generator, announced Monday that it had signed an electricity agreement with New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Ltd (NZAS) following extended negotiations. NZAS was committed to buying 572 Megawatts of electricity from Meridian to run the smelter at Tiwai Point, in the far south of the South Island, at full capacity, Meridian chief executive Mark Binns said in a statement. Meridian was committed to cover Tiwai Point's electricity usage at current production levels through to 2030, but NZAS retained a right to terminate the agreement with 12 months notice from the start of...
Despite steady growth in demand in the domestic market, India's aluminium producers are spending sleepless nights, the reason being rising imports eating into their market shares. The demand for the white metal has been growing steadily at a CAGR of 6 per cent since 2010-2011, driven by increased consumption in the automobile and construction sectors. In 2014-2015, demand grew 6.2 per cent to nearly 2.4 million tonnes (mt). Yet, market share of the domestic producers has declined from 60 per cent to 45 per cent in the last five years. Imports from China and Middle East are on the rise. A substantial part of these imports is constituted by scrap and waste material. In 2014-15, the share of scrap and waste in 1.563 mt of aluminium imports was 860,000 tonnes. This is adding to the aluminium...
Vedanta Resources Plc releases Production reports for the First Quarter FY 2016. Vedanta reports record quarterly aluminium production and continued high utilisation rate at Lanjigarh alumina refinery. Tom Albanese, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Resources plc, said: "In Q1 we saw continued volatility in commodity prices…. We continue to focus on improving efficiency, costs, and enhancing production across our well-invested asset base… Our diversified business model supported by strong operating strengths and structurally low cost assets will enable robust long term returns to stakeholders." Highlights for the aluminium segment are given below: The Lanjigarh alumina refinery operated at a high utilisation rate and produced 269,000 tonnes in Q1 FY2016, 15% higher than Q1 of last year....
ICICIdirect has maintained 'Hold' on Vedanta following announcement of company's first quarter results. The stock broker fixed price target to INR 135. Commenting on the results, ICICIdirect said, ''Vedanta reported a mixed set of Q1FY16 numbers. The EBITDA came in below our estimates while on the back of forex gain, PAT came in higher than our estimates. The key disappointment came in from the aluminium segment on the back of a steep fall in aluminium realisations and premium. While the EBITDA of Vedanta Aluminium (VAL) declined 66% QoQ and 60% YoY to INR 1.78 billion, Balco reported an EBITDA loss of INR 1.69 billion.'' Commenting on the investment rationale, ICICIdirect said, ''For the quarter, Vedanta reported a muted performance on account of the subdued performance from the...
A meeting of the Board of Directors of National Aluminium Company Ltd will be held on August 12, 2015, to consider and take on record the Un-audited Financial Results of the Company for the quarter ended on June 30, 2015. Shares of NATIONAL ALUMINIUM CO.LTD. was last trading in BSE at INR35.3 as compared to the previous close of INR 35.55. The total number of shares traded during the day was 166092 in over 1197 trades. The stock hit an intraday high of INR 36.05 and intraday low of 35.25. The net turnover during the day was INR 5931692.
