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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Venezuela's production of aluminum and steel in 2014 fell to their lowest levels in three decades due to limited investment, aging machinery and chronic labor conflict, according to the industry ministry's annual report. Output at Venezuelan steelmaker Sidor, nationalized in 2008 by late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, dropped 33.5 percent from the year before to reach 1.03 million tonnes of liquid steel, its lowest level since the mid-1980s. "Financial limitations were caused by low (revenue) resulting from constant labor stoppages that made it difficult to acquire raw material," the report says, adding that Sidor operates at 31 percent of its capacity. State-run aluminum smelter Venalum saw production drop 14 percent from the year before to reach 109,536 tonnes. The firm acknowledged in...
The Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Mines, Government of India, was founded in 1989 as a centre of excellence to cater to the technical and R&D needs of the Indian Aluminium Industry. Since the last 25 years of its existence, it has been successful in meeting the aspirations of the vibrant and growing Indian aluminium industry. As a culmination of its Silver Jubilee Celebrations in April 2015, the centre is organizing, a three day workshop on “Microscopic Techniques in the Aluminium Industry” from 16-18 April 2015. The objectives of this workshop are to impart valuable technical and practical knowledge in the area of optical and electron microscopy for the benefit of the bauxite, alumina and aluminium...
South Korea is increasing investment in the non-ferrous metal industry due to improving demands and major companies are stepping up to increase capacities, reported a national media. As companies are increasing capacities in zinc, lead, copper as well as silver and gold, aluminium is also gaining importance. A leading aluminium billet producer in the country, Standard Firm Co. Ltd, is planning an expansion and is expected to complete its No.2 Branch this month. At present the plant located in Gangwon Munmak industrial park has two 100-ton furnaces, three 60-ton furnaces and three 50-ton furnaces. After completion of the proposed expansion, the annual capacity will come up to a total of 304,000 tons. The company plans to export the finished goods from the new plant to overseas markets like...
The Aluminum Association, in cooperation with the Aluminum Association of Canada, reported primary aluminum production in North America (U.S. and Canada) was at an annual rate of 4,536,937 tonnes during February 2015, up 20,474 tpy (+0.5%) over the previous month's rate of 4,516,463 tonnes. This marks the fourth consecutive month in which production has increased. Compared to a year ago, the annual rate of production was 3.6 percent below the February 2014 rate of 4,708,552 tonnes. U.S. and Canadian Producer inventories totaled 2,877 million pounds in January, up 1.7 percent from the December 2014 level of 2,830 million pounds. Compared to a year ago, producer inventories were up 12.1 percent. For more information visit the Aluminum Association website.
Japan's aluminum premiums for April-June shipments were mostly set at $380 per metric ton, down for the first time in six quarters on higher inventories and slumping spot premiums, six sources directly involved in the talks said. Japan is Asia's biggest importer of the metal and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region. Five buyer sources and another source at one of the producers said most shipments were booked at $380 per metric ton, down 11 percent from a record $425 in the January-March quarter. "We urged producers to drastically cut premiums as stocks have piled up and spot premiums have come down to as low as around $350 here and overseas premiums have also lost ground," a...
The most recent statistics released by the International Aluminum Institute (IAI) indicates that the global aluminum output during the month of February this year, excluding China, dropped when compared with the prior month. However, upon comparison with the same month a year ago, the Feb ’15 output has improved considerably. As per IAI data, the total aluminum production during February this year totaled 1.911 million mt, down by almost 9% when compared with the revised output figure of 2.104 million mt in January. The output during Feb ’15 was higher by nearly 2% when compared with the output of 1.868 million mt in February last year. The cumulative aluminum output during the initial two months of the year totaled 4.015 million mt, slightly higher when compared with the output of 3.919...
Aluminium futures traded a shade higher at INR 111.70 per kg today as speculators enlarged exposures on pick-up in spot demand. However, the metal's weakness overseas capped the gains. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in March traded higher by 15 paise, or 0.13%, at INR 111.70 per kg in a business turnover of 191 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in April traded higher by 10 paise, or 0.09%, to Rs 112.60 per kg in eight lots. Analysts said rising demand from consuming industries at domestic spot markets mainly influenced aluminium prices at futures trade but the metal's weakness at the London Metal Exchange (LME), limited the gains.
A spokeswoman for Ian Macfarlane says the Industry Minister was looking to make it "abundantly clear" what the government's position on the Renewable Energy Target was at talks today with key stakeholders, The Australian Financial Review reports. According to the newspaper, Mr Macfarlane will meet this morning with representatives from the conventional power and renewable power sectors, aluminium industry and the unions. The meeting comes just a week before a deadline expires that would force emissions-intensive aluminium producers to pay liabilities under the scheme for another year, an outcome Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has said he wants to avoid as both Labor and the government have agreed to a full exemption for that industry. The government has offered the Labor Party a deal to...
The region’s future role as the world’s powerhouse in aluminium and issues related to boosting the downstream sector will come to the fore at the fourth edition of Aluminium Middle East 2015 taking place in Dubai, UAE, next month. Reed Exhibitions Middle East, the organiser of the event, expects a greater turnout than the one witnessed in 2013 with 180 exhibitors from 25 countries projected to participate in the region’s largest gathering of its kind. Aluminium Middle East will be held from April 14 to 16 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Launched in 2009, Aluminium Middle East has become a must-attend platform for the industry’s international and regional front-runners including producers, manufacturers, processors of raw materials and end products made with...
Aluminium settled down -1.74% at 110.05 as pressure seen after the report that Chinese buyers of primary aluminium are reluctant to book imports for the second quarter as they hold limited cash and as falling premiums prompt them to postpone purchases. While China is the world's top producer of aluminium, some end users buy the metal abroad under a rule that allows them to import duty free as long as products made from the cargoes are shipped overseas. Reduced buying will likely pile more pressure on premiums for primary aluminium ingots in Asia. Premiums, the surcharge paid by buyers on top of the London Metal Exchange cash price to obtain prompt delivery, have fallen in the global market in the first quarter from record highs, with some analysts predicting further drops. While Ms....
Talks between the Federal Government and the Opposition on the Renewable Energy Target have broken down again. The target is for 20 per cent of Australia's energy mix to come from renewable sources, like wind and solar, by 2020. Both parties agree the target is now too high because energy demand in Australia has dropped significantly since it was set but are yet to settle on how big the cut should be. The 20 per cent figure represents 41,000 gigawatt hours. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane says the Government is prepared to set the target at 32,000 gigawatt hours. But Labor's environment spokesman, Mark Butler, wants a figure in the mid-to-high 30,000s and said there would be no deal if the Government did not lift its offer. "If that is the Government's final offer it's unacceptable and...
The giant corrugated white shed that dominates the quayside at Vlissingen in the Netherlands is just one of many dull metal boxes like it, dotted around the harbour city. Inside the vast hangar, shimmering under the fluorescent bulbs, are row after row of neatly stacked aluminum ingots. Mundane as they look, these huge storage sheds are behind a fierce row that has battered the reputations of Wall Street and industrial titans including Goldman Sachs, Glencore and JP Morgan Chase. The row has also reverberated through the City of London, sparking a revamp of the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) rules that govern its controversial metals warehousing system. The LME has been under pressure since last year’s investigation by a US Senate committee into the aluminium market that issued a damning...
The union representing workers at Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.’s aluminum smelter in Kitimat has filed applications in B.C. Supreme Court seeking to overturn approvals for a $5-billion expansion, claiming the government was biased and the project poses health risks. Unifor says the government is allowing unsafe levels of air pollution by failing to require the installation of sulphur dioxide (SO2) scrubbers and it wants the court to overturn the approvals. Unifor also alleges the government approval was prejudiced because a Ministry of Environment employee was being paid by Rio Tinto Alcan at the time the decision was made. The company disputes both claims, saying modernization will make the plant cleaner, and the dual employment role was a standard procedure, needed because a massive number of...
Emirates Global Aluminium ("EGA"), one of the world's five largest primary aluminium producers, has again received international recognition for its commitment to excellence through continual improvement and innovation. This time, the accolade took the form of the DeutscherIdeenPreis 2015 - Ideas International Award, which was awarded to one of the suggestions submitted by EGA employees in the recent Deutsches Institut fuer Betriebswirtschaft (" DIB ", which translates as 'German Institute for Business Administration'). The winning suggestion, "Reduce riser voltage drop in new pot cells by welding aluminium strips", was based on the fundamentals, i.e. the power loss in a bolted joint is much higher than in a welded one. The basic unit of aluminium production is called a cell. Heavy...
Chinese buyers of primary aluminium are reluctant to book imports for the second quarter as they hold limited cash and as falling premiums prompt them to postpone purchases, traders and industry sources said. While China is the world's top producer of aluminium, some end users buy the metal abroad under a rule that allows them to import duty free as long as products made from the cargoes are shipped overseas. Imports usually pick up after holidays for the Lunar New Year, which this year came in February, but buying has been weaker than expected this month, sources said. Reduced buying will likely pile more pressure on premiums for primary aluminium ingots in Asia. Premiums, the surcharge paid by buyers on top of the London Metal Exchange cash price to obtain prompt delivery, have fallen...
Aluminium prices fell by 0.45% to INR 111.50 per kg in futures trade today as participants reduced their exposures even as the metal strengthened at the London Metal Exchange (LME). At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in March eased by 50 paise, or 0.45%, to INR 111.50 per kg in a business turnover of 269 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in April traded lower by 45 paise, or 0.44%, to INR 112.45 per kg in 27 lots. Marketmen said the weakness in aluminium at futures trade was mostly due to profit-booking by speculators but the metal's gain at the LME, limited the fall.
The London Metal Exchange wants to grow its electronic trading marketplace. Executives at the world’s biggest and oldest market for industrial metals believe they can grow it quite rapidly if the right conditions are put in place. Paul MacGregor, the exchange’s head of sales, said at an LME event in Chicago that the group is in a position where it has a good electronic trading platform and good participation in it, but needs more volume. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Ltd.-owned LME still uses open outcry trading. This system works great for actual metal users, but the professional traders and bank traders that the LME would like to have participating are used to a faster pace. “The actual financial participants, the so-called algorithmic traders and the market movers, are 10% or...
SNC-Lavalin is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) to provide the engineering, procurement and construction management services for the PL1-3 Energy Optimization Project at EGA's operating subsidiary, Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL, also known as EGA Jebel Ali) in the United Arab Emirates. SNC-Lavalin will upgrade the three original potlines at the smelter. This will involve modifying existing equipment to implement EGA's in-house developed D18+ technology, as well as installing a new potline control system and transformer rectifier swing unit. Work has already begun and the project is expected to conclude in 2017. "We are proud to be a part of EGA's continued growth and success," said Dale Clarke, Executive Vice-President, Mining &...
