National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) expects revenue to reach INR 190-200 billion (USD 2.29–2.41 billion) in the current year, supported by higher alumina production and stronger aluminium prices, while an INR 250-billion (USD 3.01 billion) expansion programme is set to reshape its upstream, smelting and power capacities by FY31. The state-owned aluminium producer expects revenue to increase from approximately INR 178 billion (USD 2.14 billion) last year as its new refinery capacity lifts alumina production and higher aluminium prices support realisations. NALCO Chairman and Managing Director Brijendra Prasad Singh attributed the revenue outlook to these two factors. INR 250 billion capex to expand aluminium value chain NALCO is simultaneously advancing a INR 250-crore (USD 3.01...
According to SMM statistics, changes in aluminium ingot and aluminium billet (collectively referred to as aluminium inventory) inventories in major consumption areas in China around the National Day holiday, 2020-2026: overall destocking before the holiday, with the most concentrated inventory buildup during the holiday. During the one-week National Day holiday from 2020 to 2025, aluminium ingots, aluminium billets, and total aluminium inventory all saw inventory buildup (aluminium ingots up 4.0 per cent -17.3 per cent, aluminium billets up 12.7 per cent -66.0 per cent, total aluminium inventory up 6.9 per cent -21.2 per cent ). In the second week after the holiday, aluminium ingots did not see further inventory buildup except in 2021, while aluminium billets destocked in all six years....
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The biggest aluminum producers are discussing the introduction of a “green” trademark for the lightweight metal that could be sold at a premium and encourage carbon footprint reductions among rivals, United Co. Rusal’s deputy chief executive officer said. “Since many of consumers, such as the car industry, are working on becoming more nature-friendly, the issue of clean aluminum output becomes important," Oleg Mukhamedshin said in an interview last week. As an example, "even if a car with an aluminum body enables lower CO2 emissions, more pollution could have been caused by the company producing that metal, which damages the idea of clean vehicles." Energy comprises most of the aluminum industry’s costs, and carbon dioxide generated by fossil fuels such as coal makes up almost 60 percent...
Sinking aluminum prices and a ballooning surplus of the metal have deepened the industry's worst crisis in years, intensifying pressure on high-cost smelters to embark on another round of production cuts to revive prices from their malaise. The 25 percent drop since last September has pushed benchmark London Metal Exchange (LME) prices to six-year lows, and the unprecedented plunge this year in premiums, surcharges paid for physical delivery, to their lowest in 3-1/2 years are the biggest test for producers' margins since the 2008 financial crisis. More than 10 percent of smelting capacity outside of China, or 3.5 million tonnes of production, is running in the red with a combined LME and U.S. premium of $1,800 per tonne, according to Wood Mackenzie data from second-quarter results. On...
Aluminium settled up 0.28% at 107.75 rebounded as LME Aluminium gained to settled at USD 1,636/mt later as the US dollar index fell after the US Fed announced no rate hike in September. Adopting a relatively dovish stance, Fed chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. central bank will begin monetary policy normalization when it has seen "further improvement in the labor market," and it is "reasonably confident" that inflation is moving toward its targeted goal of 2%. Yellen also noted that large drags from falling energy and import prices should dissipate in the near future allowing long-term inflation to move back toward its long-term target. Still, the Fed downgraded its median inflation forecasts at the meeting to 0.3% for the end of 2015, while lowering inflation expectations for the end of...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium smelters, held a special workshop - ‘Market Downturn’ for its Executives, Directors and Managers on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at the Oasis Hall. The ‘Market Downturn’ workshop, led by Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray, aimed to discuss the challenges on the back of the significant drop in LME prices and physical premiums. This workshop has also focused on fast-action cost reduction roadmaps. Mr. Murray stressed on the importance of safety, cost control and productivity improvements. Throughout the workshop, individual departmental goals and roadmaps were reviewed by the CEO, who later opened the floor for discussion. Adding further on the ‘Market Downturn’, Mr. Murray said: “Alba is facing difficult LME...
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...
