Four days to go, and the aluminium world is getting ready to move to Düsseldorf. From October 6-8, the city will host ALUMINIUM 2026 , with more than 800 exhibitors and partners and over 21,000 trade visitors expected at Messe Düsseldorf. The event will bring together producers, recyclers, downstream manufacturers, technology providers, equipment suppliers, policymakers and end users from across the global aluminium value chain. The 2026 edition comes at an important point for the aluminium industry. European producers are facing pressure from energy costs, international competition and tighter climate requirements, while concerns around raw material security and resilient supply chains continue to grow. At the same time, demand for aluminium is expanding across electric mobility,...
The Aluminum Association launched “America Needs Aluminum,” a new public awareness and advocacy campaign highlighting aluminum’s essential role in the US economy and calling for policies that help America make, recycle and build more with this critical material. The campaign centers on a straightforward message: America needs aluminum - let’s make more of it here. It builds on the association’s broader “all-of-the-above” strategy for aluminum supply, which calls for expanding both recycled and primary aluminum production, strengthening domestic manufacturing, improving energy availability and aggressively confronting unfair trade. “Aluminum is essential to nearly every part of modern American life - from our cars, homes and packaging to the power grid, fighter jets and advanced...
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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 &...
The German aluminium industry clearly outpaced economic growth as a whole last year and it is also expecting the economic trend to be stable in 2015. Aluminium producers (+ 3.7 per cent), manufacturers of semi-finished products (+ 2.2 per cent), aluminium casters (+ 12.1 per cent) and converters (+ 3.9 per cent) all increased their production significantly in 2014. “The use of aluminium will grow continuously worldwide, but also andparticularly in Germany,” is how Heinz-Peter Schlüter, President of Düsseldorf-based GDA Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie, describes the medium-term prospects of his sector. “Thanks to the high innovation potential of the markets in Germany, the competitiveness of the aluminium industry will continue to grow,” says GDA Executive Director Christian Wellner...
BHP Billiton expects to incur one-off costs of around $US738 million on its $US15 billion ($A18.5bn) spin-off of non-core aluminium and manganese assets into South32, but has flagged further reductions to its cost base following the transaction. Investors responded well to the news. By 4.15pm (AEDT) BHP shares were 1.26 per cent higher at $29.77, against a benchmark index lift of 0.77 per cent. The charge comprises of stamp duty and cash tax of $US339m, South32 set up and separation costs of $US254m and execution costs of $US145m, including financial advisor costs of $US30m. BHP chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said the demerger of non-core aluminium and manganese businesses will materially simplify the miner's portfolio in a single step and, in the longer term, "allow [BHP] to further...
Hindalco stocks were seen to slide on Monday by as much as 6 percent in an otherwise dull trading session ending the day at INR 126.90 on the BSE, still down by 3.4 percent. Reasons for the weak performance in the market is attributed to the uncertainty surrounding the company, with coal blocks like Dumri put on hold by the government as well as the CBI probe surrounding the Talabira-II mine controversy. There are even reports that the CBI has filed a fresh First Information Report (FIR) against the company and has started probing into diversion of coal from Talabira-I mine. Market experts say that whenever there is re-examination surrounding a company, it raises doubts and investors do not appreciate uncertainties and doubts. The coal issue has been highly controversial involving...
The UAE Ministry of Economy , organisers of Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), has announced that Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has been named strategic partner of the 5th edition of the event which will be held at the Dubai international Convention and Exhibition Center from March 30 to April 1, 2015, under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. His Excellency Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy - Foreign Trade sector, hailed EGA as a major supporter of the national economy and a global giant in the production of aluminium. "We consider its strategic partnership with AIM as a symbol of its support to innovation and this move will highlight the significance of industrial...
Public sector aluminium firm National Aluminium Co. Ltd (Nalco) has declared an interim dividend of INR 322.15 crore for the current fiscal on the paid up equity share capital of INR1,288.62 crore. The dividend of 25%—INR.1.25 per share of INR 5 each—was approved in the meeting of Nalco’s board of directors held at New Delhi on Thursday, a company release said in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Navaratna public sector undertaking (PSU) Nalco, which started its commercial operations in 1987, has been earning profits consistently and declaring dividends since 1992. In last fiscal, the company had declared a total dividend of INR 386.59 crore, it said. It may be noted that since inception, Nalco has paid a total of INR4,906 crore as dividend including INR 4,234 crore as share of Union government, the...
In the recent Indian coal auctions, aluminium bagged more coal mines than steel as a result of aggressive bidding from aluminium producers pointing to a rising domestic demand for the metal. While aluminium is an energy intensive metal to produce, steel needs to coal as a reduction agent to form the iron and carbon alloy. Steel plants collectively owned majority of coal mines, 83 percent of the total coal reserves available across the 31 auctioned blocks, but after the auctions they now own only 32 percent. Aluminium producers earlier had only one percent share in the total coal reserves but now they have ownership of 36 percent of available coal reserves. Demand for the lighter metal is seen to be on the rise according to market analysis and aided by the weaker dollar has had a positive...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s, a leading aluminium smelter in the world, in line with its commitment to continue strengthening its credentials as an efficient aluminium producer, successfully carried out the upgrade of the Potline control systems for Reduction Lines 4 and 5 with the Alpsys system. The Alpsys system features include enhanced control features and fast monitoring to maintain optimum pot parameters which will improve performance and also enhance safety. Speaking on this project, Alba’s Acting Director for Potlines, Abdulla Habib said: “Alba continues to push the limits on improving operational performance. The upgrade to the new Alpsys system is a major milestone and will improve productivity and safety. I congratulate the teams for completing the project on time and...
Top global aluminium producer Rusal said it has raised China's swelling aluminium exports with the Australian government, and wants the issue tabled at the next meeting of the world's top customs body. John Hannagan, chairman of Rusal Australia, and a director of the Australian Aluminium Council, said he had alerted the Australian government to China's rising exports. "I have contacted both Customs and the Trade minister's office seeking to have the matter of China semis ... put on the agenda of the next meeting of the World Customs Organisation," Hannagan told Reuters. China is the world's top producer and consumer of aluminium, as well as semis, semi-manufactured shapes used in everything from window frames to beer cans. Exports of primary aluminium ingots attract heavy export duties in...
Handtmann Group, Germany's largest family-owned aluminum foundry, has established its wholly-owned subsidiary in the northern port city of Tianjin. Handtmann Light Metal Foundry (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. is located in Tianjin Airport Economic Area, the administrative committee of the area said Sunday. With a total investment of about 75 million euros, the newly established company is their first production base in Asia and will primarily manufacture gearbox shells and clutch housings for automaker Volkswagen. The company, which covers an area of 52,000 square meters and owns 12 die casting machines and two smelting furnaces, is capable of processing 27,000 tonnes of powdered aluminum for producing nearly two million gearbox and clutch housings per year. It is estimated that its annual turnover...
"After challenging years, the fundamentals in the aluminium market show some improvement - and our ambitious improvement strategy yields significant results turning Hydro into a strong player well positioned for a better, bigger and greener future," President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg writes in his letter to shareholders. "The lowered cost of producing a ton of aluminium is not simply a result of shortsighted "cost-cutting", but a lasting result of systematic and determined improvement programs. As earnings outlook has improved, now is the time to prove the strength of our improvement culture: Stepping-up when you have to is one thing, but true culture is reflected through advancements also when not driven by external distress," Brandtzæg says. "Improvements will be supplemented...
Optimism that a recovery in profits at Rio Tinto Group’s aluminium division will counter a slump in iron-ore prices and underpin increased investor returns looks misplaced. When the world’s second-largest mining company reported a 9% dip in underlying profit last month, CEO Sam Walsh touted a turnaround at the unit which emerged from the value-destructive $38bn acquisition of Alcan in 2007. Profit from that business more than doubled to $1.3bn last year. "Aluminium has grown into a significant contributor to group earnings and cash flows," Mr Walsh told analysts last month. "We’re seeing significant improvement in the aluminium business, and I guess everybody is now seeing it." The outlook for aluminium is "souring" as a surge in Chinese exports of the lightweight metal used in everything...
Venezuela's state-controlled smelter Venalum, the largest primary aluminum smelter in Latin America, will no longer be able to meet purity standards due to its deteriorating financial situation, according to a company document seen by Reuters. Venalum wrote to warn clients on Wednesday that the iron content of its ingots will exceed established industry limits of 0.3 percent, rising to between 0.55 and 0.9 percent, forcing it to cut prices and making the metal harder for industry buyers to use. "Venalum is unable to manufacture and certify its Primary Aluminum at 99.7 percent (purity)," the document says, citing the company's "difficult financial situation." It did not elaborate. Venalum declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Primary aluminum is a finished metal used by a host of...
Ukraine High Court has decided that they will nationalize the Zaporizhia (Zaporozhye) alumina and aluminium complex (ZALK) which was acquired by Russian giant Rusal 12 years ago holding a 68% stake at present. The news came via an announcement issued by the General Prosecutor’s office on Thursday. Rusal had abandoned the aluminium plant located in southeastern Ukraine years ago due to low aluminium prices, and the debate surrounding the ownership of the plant had been raging for many years. Ukraine government has started a drive to reclaim all the assets built on Ukrainian territory owned by Russia, after Russia did the same post the Crimea annexation last year, resulting in increased tension between the two countries. According to the prosecutor, the disputed plant is worth 380 billion...
Aluminium stocks held at three major Japanese ports climbed for an eleventh month to hit a record high at the end of February due to robust imports. Aluminium stocks held at Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka grew 0.8 percent in February from a month earlier to 453,400 tonnes, Marubeni Corp said on Thursday. The trading house collects data from those key ports. That broke the previous record set in January, the highest level in data going back nearly 15 years. Behind the higher imports are slack demand elsewhere in Asia and China's increased exports of cheaper aluminium products. "We heard that the inflows (to these ports) were still higher than the outflows in February, reflecting high level of imports," said a Tokyo-based trader, who declined to be named. "But an expansion pace of the...
A deluge of aluminum, held as collateral in financing deals, could be released back onto global markets as surging Chinese exports of the metal cause surcharges for physical material to extend their dramatic slide. Premiums - which lurched lower for the first time last month after years of hitting record highs - are also facing pressure from market reform aimed at untangling controversial storage practices and the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates. The surcharges, paid by buyers on top of the London Metal Exchange cash price to obtain immediate delivery of metal, had soared by up to nine-fold since 2009. This was partly due to expensive backlogs at LME-registered warehouses of up to two years to get access to material. They have already shed 10-15 percent in Asia, Europe and the...
Aluminium futures rose by 0.23% to INR 111.05 per kg today as speculators enlarged exposures on pick up in spot demand and a firming trend in base metals overseas. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium prices for delivery in March traded higher by 25 paise, or 0.23%, at INR 111.05 per kg in a business turnover of 136 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in March traded higher by 20 paise, or 0.18%, to INR 111.95 per kg in 69 lots. Analysts said rising demand from consuming industries at domestic spot markets and the metal's strength at the London Metal Exchange (LME), where it rebounded from 10-month low before industrial output data from the world's largest metals consumer China, mainly influenced aluminium prices at futures trade here. Globally, aluminium for delivery in three...
The Phase 3 of the Press Metal Bhd’s aluminium smelter in Samjalu Industrial Park is showing good progress while maintain the high environmental standards, revealed CEO Datuk Paul Koon to a local newspaper on Thursday. Land clearances have almost come to a close while construction is progressing smoothly and on schedule to increase the capacity of the metal production which will prove beneficial at a time when demand for the metal is growing, says Koon. “The demand for aluminium continues to grow. Although Malaysians are concerned with low oil price and implementation of Goods and Services Tax, almost 90 per cent of our sales are for export markets,” he said in an email interview. After the expansion, Press Metal hopes to double its aluminium smelting capacity to 640,000 tons from the...
