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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Aluminum oversupply in China is worsening as new capacity expands rapidly, Shanghai Metals Market understands. The country’s new capacity is expected to surpass 5 million-tpy this year, most of which enjoy low costs, SMM statistics showed. Capacity cuts, including capacity closed for maintenance, have been less than 1 million-tpy since the beginning of this year, according to SMM data.
National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco), a navratna PSU under the Ministry of Mines, has entered into a co-operation agreement for research & development with Aluminium Pechiney (AP) / Rio Tinto Alcan. The agreement was signed between B K Satpathy, Executive Director (Business Development), Nalco and Bernard Allais, Director (Sales and Marketing), AP Smelter Technology on July 10, 2015. N R Mohanty, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, S C Padhy, Director(HR), K C Samal, Director ( Finance) and other senior officials of Nalco were present on the occasion. The two companies plan to take up several developmental research activities in collaborative efforts under this agreement, Nalco said in a statement on Monday.
To protect the interest of homegrown companies from rising imports of aluminium metal and its scrap, the aluminium industry has demanded that the Centre increase import duty on these products. As per statistics of Aluminium Association of India, Indian Aluminium Industry has seen a huge surge in imports in recent years from 8.81 lakh tonne in the year 2010-11 to 15.63 lakh tonne in 2014-15 financial year -- primarily from Middle East and China. Similarly, the import of aluminium waste and scrap has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 16 % in the same period. "The Indian Aluminium Industry is at a critical phase where it requires support from the government to maintain not only its current viability but also protect its growth plans that have significant economy contributions and...
Romanian aluminum producer Alro Slatina will get USD 200 million (EUR 179 million) loans from local and international banks. It will borrow USD 60 million from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), a financial institution whose shareholders are the 11 countries bordering the Black Sea. The bank was founded by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, which are also the 11 founding countries of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. The aluminum producer will also take USD 120 million from a syndicate of banks, to finance an older loan taken from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It has also borrowed USD 27 million from local lender Raiffeisen Romania. The company, which is the biggest aluminum...
Alcoa Inc.’s revised outlook for aluminium in 2015 comes close on the heels of a sharp fall in metal prices. Aluminium on the London Metal Exchange (LME) has fallen 15.3% since a year ago and by 6% since 1 June. Alcoa’s results for the June quarter reflect the impact of falling prices, although the company benefited from productivity gains. Alcoa’s outlook for aluminium is more interesting for Indian investors. There is good and bad news. The demand growth forecast for 2015 is held steady at 6.5%. And aluminium inventory is down at 62 days at the end of the June quarter compared with 66 days in the preceding quarter. But this did nothing to prevent prices from falling during the quarter. The bad news is on the supply-demand balance. The surplus in the aluminium market is projected at...
Manufacturers of goods from cars to soda cans are benefiting from declining aluminum costs, a sign that new warehouse rules aimed at loosening the grip of Wall Street banks are having the desired effect. For the past four years, customers have had to wait months and sometimes years to remove aluminum from storage, or pay large fees to avoid the delays. The London Metal Exchange, the world’s largest venue for metals trading, in February forced clogged warehouses to remove more metal than they take in. Aluminum-delivery charges, called premiums in industry parlance, have plunged 65% since the LME implemented the new rules. At the time, premiums accounted for 22% of the total cost of metal borne by industrial consumers. Now, they make up just 9.7%. Other factors are helping reduce the prices...
High-cost aluminum smelters in China are under growing pressure to cut output against falling aluminum prices, Shanghai Metals Market notes. Some 7.85 million-tpy aluminum capacity in China - 22.3% of the country’s operational aluminum capacity - were operating above the cash costs of 13,000 yuan per tonne as of the end of June, SMM statistics showed. These capacities concentrate in Guizhou, Guangxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Hubei, Yunnan, etc. Of them, 60% of smelters are small ones with annual capacity at less than 200,000 tonne. A majority of these small smelters suffer from high power costs due to a lack of captive power plants, thus bearing the brunt of falling aluminum prices. SMM spot aluminum prices hit over six-year low of 12,050 yuan per tonne on July 8.
Attuned to get closer to its customers around the globe, Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a world’s leading aluminium smelter, has had official delegation visiting some of its key customers in Asia and Pacific Region. The delegation comprised of Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray, along with the Acting Chief Marketing Officer, Khalid A. Latif, Sales Manager of Asia & Pacific, Yogesh Kumar, and Sales Officer of Alba’s Hong Kong Office, Enoch Kwok. This visit aimed to improve customer satisfaction, give more insights on Line 6 Expansion Project as well as expand Alba’s customer base across Asia. In addition, Alba took part in Aluminium China 2015 from 8-10 July 2015 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in China. Held every year, this conference is considered as one of...
Buyers of copper and aluminium in China reduced spot purchases in the domestic and international markets this week after the country's equity market rout reduced the liquidity for the buying, people in the industry said. Merchants and factories that buy the metals for manufacturing of semi-finished products such as copper rods and aluminium profiles appear to be holding less cash than they need for spot purchases, the people said. The decline in liquidity comes as equity prices fall, stock trading suspensions lock in investments, and loans linked to stocks fall in price. "End-users have some liquidity problems, limiting their buying this week," said a trader at a state-owned refined copper producer, who was not authorised to speak with media and so declined to be identified. "We don't...
Fives announces the acquisition of ECL, a specialist in the design and installation of equipment used to produce primary aluminium. ECL will become a new entity within Fives and bring a high level of complementary technical strengths and sales strategies. Founded in 1947, and became a subsidiary of Péchiney in 1970 until its acquisition by Rio Tinto Alcan, ECL is a world leader in the design and installation of equipment used to produce aluminium, with a particular focus on Pot Tending Machines (PTMs), Furnace Tending Assembly (FTA) machines, and Anode Rodding equipment. More than half of the world’s operating aluminium smelters outside China use equipment supplied by ECL. The company also developed an offer of high-added value services (spare parts, maintenance, and modernization). It...
Production numbers are creating sleepless nights for the stakeholders of Aluminium. There has been a constant surge in the world production of Aluminium thanks to China that has kept on subsidizing the production units so that they do not become dormant. The result has been that the production from smaller and even larger units from China has remained rampant, and is affecting the world production numbers as a whole. The prices on the other hand have been unable to bear that brunt. The prices of LME Aluminium have declined by more than 7% till July 2015. MCX Aluminium has also declined by 5% marginally lower than London counterpart due to currency fluctuations and improving domestic consumption and emphasis of government of Make in India programme. The production of Aluminium reached...
The Aluminum Association announced today the addition of three new member companies -- HEICHE GROUP US Surface Technology; Phinix, LLC; and Walter Surface Technologies. The firms join as associate members – firms that supply the North American aluminum industry with goods and services. The new member additions come at a time of continued demand growth for aluminum. According to recent preliminary Aluminum Association data, the North American aluminum industry shipped an estimated 25.5 billion pounds of aluminum in 2014, the most since 2006. More recent data shows 3.1% year-over-year demand growth through April 2015. From the 2009 baseline, demand for the metal in the U.S. and Canada has risen by nearly 40 percent. “We’re excited to welcome these new member companies to the Aluminum...
LME aluminum will rise to $ 1,670-1,710 per tonne next week, Shanghai Metals Market foresees. The price rise will be driven by positive technical side, easing Greek debt crisis and impressive rally of Chinese stock market. SHFE 1509 aluminum contract will face upward correction after sharp fall, but poor market fundamentals will curb the upside room. The contract should range 12,400-12,600 yuan per tonne. In China’s spot market, growing bullishness before upcoming delivery of SHFE 1507 aluminum contract will allow spot discounts to narrow to 30-70 yuan per tonne.
The debut of ALUMINUM USA in Detroit on 11 and12 November is fast approaching, and the list of exhibitors and partners is growing steadily. Numerous international companies have registered to participate. With the trade magazine Light Metal Age, the trade show just brought on board a key media partner and additional supporter. Light Metal Age is the most important US magazine dedicated to the primary production and processing of aluminium. The first ALUMNUM USA will take place at the Cobo Center in Detroit on 11 and 12 November. Adding the new trade show to its portfolio, Reed Exhibitions – the world’s largest organiser of trade fairs and conventions – continues to expand its global operations. ALUMINUM USA joins the ALUMINIUM World Trade Fair in Germany (Düsseldorf) and aluminium shows...
Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro ASA’s fully owned subsidiary, Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH , has secured a power contract with Axpo Trading AG, a Switzerland-based energy company with captive power production and international trading activity, totaling 0,9 TWh (100 MW) annually in the eight year period from 2018 to 2025. The new power contract will replace parts of an existing combination of internal and external power arrangements entered into in 2012, supplying Hydro Neuss primary aluminium plant with a total of 2.2 TWh (250 MW) annually in the period from 2013 to 2017. In the period from 2018 to 2020, the remaining 1.3 TWh (150 MW) of the expiring power sourcing arrangement will be replaced by an internal power contract supplied by Hydro. “Together with ongoing...
Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, more than doubled its estimate for the global supply surplus this year amid increasing output from China. Supply will exceed demand by 762,000 metric tons, the company said Wednesday in its second-quarter earnings presentation. That’s up from an April estimate of 326,000 tons. Total demand is expected to reach 57.5 million tons this year, Alcoa said. The revision was driven by lower expectations of Chinese capacity curtailments, Chief Financial Officer Bill Oplinger said on a conference call. China will add 2.8 million tons of production capacity this year, Alcoa said in the presentation. The country already accounts for half of the world’s aluminum output and is on pace to export record amounts of products made from the lightweight metal...
Alro SA, one of the largest aluminium producers in Central and Eastern Europe, invested over USD 500 million to modernize and to increase the efficiency of its operations. The Company will continue to focus on the increase of the production capacity for high added value products and the improvement of the technology. “This year, we celebrate 50 years since we started producing aluminium in Slatina and we are proud that we managed to achieve excellent performances, thanks to our vertical integration strategy and production diversification, focused on high added value aluminium”,said Gheorghe Dobra, General Manager Alro Slatina. “In 50 years we managed to become a major aluminium producer in Central Europe, a trustworthy partner for our clients and suppliers, a responsible employer and a...
Platts, a leading global energy, petrochemicals and metals information provider and a premier source of benchmark price references, this month launched a weekly primary aluminum assessment for aluminum spot cargoes delivered to South Korea. The new price reference, known as Platts CIF Korea Spot Premium Weekly, is Platts' first price assessment for South Korean metals products and augments Platts' existing suite of metals price references serving regional and global markets. It reflects the transactable value of physically-traded aluminum as a premium or discount to the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price for P1020A ingots on a cost, insurance & freight (CIF) Busan basis. The assessment reflects the cost of physically delivering primary aluminum to Korean users, expressed as a...
