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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Aluminium prices show few signs of recovering as the world remains in a glut of the lightweight metal used in cars and cans. The price of the metal has fallen 11 per cent in the past 24 days to $1,758 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange. That is below the metal's average price of more than $2,000 since 2010. Premiums, the extra cost paid for delivery and transport, have also fallen, hurting global producers of the metal. Countries are failing to cut aluminium capacity even as Chinese exports of the metal continue to rise. As a result, the price of the metal could continue to fall until it forces capacity reductions from outside China, according to analysts. "We have 3m tonnes of capacity outside China losing money at the moment," said Eoin Dinsmore, an analyst at consultancy CRU. "Some...
Romanian aluminum producer Alro Slatina is currently looking for over USD 207 million in financing. The biggest of these is a USD 120 million revolving credit facility to refinance a loan that it received from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 2010. Alro has parent-group Vimetco’s guarantee for the revolving loan which will come from a syndicate of banks. The aluminum producer also wants to get USD 60 million from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank and other creditors, planning to use the money for new investments. Alro will also get USD 27.2 million from Raiffeisen Bank Romania to pay some of its debt. The company’s shareholders will analyze and vote on these loans on July 10. Alro Slatina posted a turnover of some USD 594 million and a USD 33 million...
Oil and metals producer Vedanta Resources Plc (VED.L) signalled on Tuesday it is considering a merger of two or more of its Indian subsidiaries, which could provide the debt-burdened units access to cash from other operations. In a statement which disclosed the possibility of a merger of its Bombay-listed subsidiaries Vedanta Ltd) and Cairn India Ltd (CIL), the holding company, Vedanta Resources PLC, said it would maintain its London-listing in case such transaction took place. "Should a transaction with CIL proceed, it could potentially be considered a reverse takeover," Vedanta said in the statement. "In addition, in line with the group's stated strategy to continue to simplify the group structure, the group continues to evaluate a transaction with the government ofIndia in relation to...
Speculation is mounting that South32, the diversified metals company spun out of global resources group BHP Billiton, could be planning its first acquisition - Rio Tinto's Pacific Aluminium assets. South32 CEO Graham Kerr said ahead of its stand-alone listing in the UK, Australia and SA last month that it would be open to making value-adding acquisitions. South32 has only $674m of net debt and access to $1.5bn of credit lines. Rio Tinto is expected to seek $1bn to $1.2bn for Pacific Aluminium. In a morning note, Investec's global mining team, citing media reports, said South32 was seen as the most credible suitor for Pacific Aluminium, for which Credit Suisse was seeking buyers. "Rio Tinto is reviving the sale of Pacific Aluminium two years after it was shelved amid signs that an upturn...
Mecfor Inc. is pleased to announce the acquisition of the intellectual property of the Brochot SA, France. Until recently, Brochot specialized in the design and manufacturing of equipment for various metal industries, in particular primary aluminium smelters worldwide. Following the acquisition process that began in February, the order for the transfer of intangible assets to Mecfor Inc. was handed down on June 2nd by the Bobigny commercial court in France. Mecfor Inc. is taking control effective immediately and will be in a position to supply equipment, technical support, replacement parts, and service for Brochot products worldwide in accordance with Mecfor's high quality standards. Highlights • The intellectual property acquired includes all models, technologies, designs, technical...
Synthesis Energy Systems, Inc., a global energy and gasification technology company enabling clean, high-value energy and chemical products from multiple feedstocks, announced that the first of three previously announced industrial syngas gasification plants from its Tianwo-SES Joint Venture has entered the commissioning phase. The plant, in Zibo City, Shandong Province, China, is owned and operated by Aluminum Corporation of China Limited, and utilizes two SES Gasification Technology systems supplied by Tianwo-SES. These gasification systems are uniquely suited to generate clean and economical syngas from local, low-grade lignite coal which will replace the purchase of more expensive natural gas. The Shandong facility is projected to enter commercial operation this year. The two...
The average cost at Chinese aluminum smelters slid 1.0% from a month ago in May, driven by lower alumina and power costs, SMM survey showed. The average weighted alumina price in China's four major regions slipped 2.2% or 57 yuan per tonne month-on-month, and the Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index fell 7.9% from April to 416.25 yuan per tonne. This allowed alumina and power costs to drop 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively.
The London Metal Exchange on Monday said it is launching a new range of aluminum contracts to allow users to protect themselves against rising regional charges that occur in addition to the cost of the metal. The decision is part of a broader strategy by the LME to keep a handle on costs for market participants and follows a rule change in April to increase the rate at which metal is moved out of its warehouses. "The premium contract provides a straightforward mechanism for buyers to source readily accessible material in a given region, and for sellers to receive fair value for selling such material," the LME said in a statement. Warehouses will opt-in to the system to issue these premium contracts and only warehouses without any queues will be eligible. If a queue develops at...
China's aluminum exports dropped from a four-month high as ample supplies this year depressed premiums paid by buyers in Asia. Shipments of unwrought aluminum and products in May slid 5.7 percent from the previous month to 410,000 metric tons, according to data published by China's General Administration of Customs on Monday. Exports from January to May are up more than 35 percent from the same period last year to 2.06 million tons, according to the data. "The export surge is still quite strong, but if you look month-on-month it's coming down a bit and that's probably because of weaker aluminum prices and premiums outside China," said Helen Lau, analyst at Argonaut Securities (Asia) Ltd. in Hong Kong. "The international price is much cheaper now." The potential profit for Chinese...
Aluminium prices fell on Monday after data showed Chinese exports of the metal remained strong, highlighting worries about a glut of supply on the global market. Copper was steady and some other metals were firmer after a bigger than expected slide in overall Chinese imports boosted hopes for more stimulus in the world's top metals consumer. Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange declined 0.5 percent to $1,741.50 a tonne by 1025 GMT after hitting a 14-month low of $1,726 on Friday. Data on Monday showed Chinese exports of unwrought aluminium and products jumped 21 percent year-on-year to 410,000 tonnes, dipping only 5 percent from the previous month. "The exports of aluminium and aluminium products were strong again in May, which was no huge surprise," said Nic Brown, head of...
Aiming to bring transparency in allotment of coal linkages and their prices, the Ministry of Coal is working on the process to auction them to unregulated sectors like steel, cement or aluminium plants. The Ministry has accepted the high level panel report on auctioning of coal linkages to unregulated sectors and has put the draft policy in public domain for comments. A Coal Ministry official said the final auction policy will be ready in a month. Coal linkages are commitments by state-run Coal India to provide a particular amount of the fuel to a plant. These linkages are currently provided on recommendations of an official committee. The process to auction coal linkages will be different from that of coal blocks. After determining the available coal, bids will be invited at a price...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium smelters, today, June 07, 2015 received H.E. Mr. William V. Roebuck, Ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of Bahrain and H.E. Mr. Mohammed bin Yousuf Ambassador of the Tunisian Republic to the Kingdom of Bahrain in two separate visits to Alba. The visits focussed on highlighting Alba’s production processes and various safety, health and environment systems, as well as seeking ways to strengthen business and cultural ties. Speaking about the visits, Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa said: “We thank H.E. Mr. William V. Roebuck, Ambassador of the United States and H.E. Mr. Mohammed bin Yousuf Ambassador of the Tunisian Republic for visiting Alba. We appreciate...
State run aluminium major, the National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) has set a target to produce 3.5 lakh tonne of aluminium in the current financial year as per the MoU signed with the Ministry of Mines. The navaratna firm also aims to produce 21.50 lakh of alumina during the reporting period. These entire production targets have been set under the very good criteria of the agreement. Similarly, the company has been given a target of around INR 8,200 crore of sales turnover this fiscal with INR 1,800 crore of gross operating margin during this period. As per the MoU, the aluminium company has a capital expenditure target of INR 900 crore in FY16. On the required assistance from central government, NALCO has sought re-allotment of Utkal-E coal block under PSU quota. It has also sought...
The seminar concluded as a success in transferring knowledge from eminent experts to an industry and academic audience. This transfer of information furthers Qatalum and Hydro’s attempts to build a strong aluminium knowledge hub in Qatar, much to the appreciation of Qatar University. In between the 26th to 28th of May 2015, a seminar on “Research and Advances in Smelting Technologies in GCC” was organized at QSTP Doha. The presenters for this seminar were eminent researchers and R and D managers. For several years, Hydro QSTP had organized outstanding seminars and symposium in the downstream sector of the aluminium Industry. Qatar and the GCC are a major hub of global aluminium production accounting for over 10% of global production. Dr Chris Devadas who leads the Hydro Technology Centre...
Five aluminum smelters in Inner Mongolia will not be subject to tiered power tariffs since their alternate current power consumption per tonne of aluminum liquid produced is below 13,700 Kwh, local media reported. These five smelters are: Inner Mongolia HMHJ Aluminum & Electricity Co., China Power Investment Huolinhe Coal & Electricity Group Aluminum Co., East Hope Baotou Rare Earth Aluminum Co., Baotou Aluminum Co., Inner Mongolia Datang International Renewable Resource Development Co.
Taking another step towards strengthening the decade long relationship between the two biggest companies in the Aluminium Industry in India and in China, Mr. Tom Albanese, CEO of Vedanta Resources PLC, visited pioneer of Chinese aluminium industry technology, China Aluminum International Engineering Corp Ltd. (CHALIECO) on June 2. A MoU of technical cooperation was signed between the two companies. The two companies shall cooperate in technical innovation in various areas related to alumina, aluminium and downstream in terms of reducing energy consumption, optimization of nature resource utilization, waste management and new applications of aluminium alloys. Joint R&D between the two shall make the aluminium industry in India more competitive, environment friendly and sustainable....
The Indian Government announced recently that the auction of coal blocks would resume soon where 10 mines with an annual production of 13.14 million tons would be put up for auction to cement, steel and aluminium companies along with captive power plants. The auction conducted by the Ministry of Coal would offer linkages to Coal India's production for a span of five years. Coal India share prices rose more than 4.5% to INR 405 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after it was declared that the company's production in May had risen by around 13% compared to the same period last year.
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world, announced today the opening of a new regional sales office in Atlanta as the most recent expansion of Alba in United States. Zac Jungers, recently appointed as the new Sales Manager for Alba Americas, will oversee the growth and development of this key market and, along with his team, will support initiatives that help in expanding the footprint of Alba's product portfolio within US. Jungers will be based at Alba's office in Atlanta Georgia, and will be reporting directly to the acting Chief Marketing Officer, Khalid Latif. Commenting on the opening of Alba's US sales office, Alba's Chief Executive Officer, Murray said: "Alba remains committed to expand its presence around the globe with the opening of a...
