PV aluminium extrusion: This week, operating rates at sampled PV frame enterprises remained broadly stable. Some PV frame enterprises in Hebei and Anhui reported that their October production schedules were basically flat versus September. During the National Day holiday, production lines will run normally to ensure on-time delivery of early-October orders, extending the pre-holiday rush to meet delivery deadlines. From the downstream module side, October module scheduled production is expected to see limited M-o-M change. With centralised projects gradually requiring delivery and growth in new overseas orders, total module production is expected to rebound slightly, and demand for PV frame support remains intact in the near term. Overall, the October delivery window provides phased...
The US September consumer confidence index plunged 6.7 points to 81.9, the lowest since 2014 and deteriorating across the board. The University of Michigan survey showed consumers' assessments of their current financial situation and that one year ahead both fell about 10 per cent, with high-price concerns continuing to brew. Inflation pressure showed no signs of easing. US Fed Governor Cook said AI demand growth, rising oil prices, and supply chain disruptions from Middle East conflicts would keep inflation under pressure, but gave no clear guidance on rate hikes. CME data showed the market-implied probability of a 25 bp rate hike in October had risen to 70.9 per cent, and the probability of a cumulative 50 bp hike by December reached 58.7 per cent. Tightening expectations strengthened...
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Century Aluminum Company announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Rick T. Dillon as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Century. Prior to joining Century, Mr. Dillon served as Vice President of Finance - Surface Mining Group at Joy Global Inc., a publicly traded manufacturer of high-productivity mining solutions. Mr. Dillon joined Joy Global in 2009 as Vice President - Corporate Controller & Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to that, Mr. Dillon served as Vice President - Business Planning and Analysis for Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. He has also held the Chief Accounting Officer role at Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. and Briggs & Stratton Corporation. Mr. Dillon holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management and a B.S. in Accounting from...
The Central Government has sanctioned establishment of an aluminium park at Angul with an estimated cost of `125 crore. The project is expected to attract investment worth `500 crore in the initial phase. Official sources said the apex committee on Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (MIIUS) has approved the project and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has sanctioned the proposal. The Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) and the National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) have formed a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the name of Angul Aluminium Park Private Limited to develop the project at Angul near the Nalco smelter plant, which will continuously supply raw materials to the proposed...
PRESS Metal Bhd expects to benefit from an improving upstream aluminium market which is now in deficit after years of oversupply, according to group chief executive officer Datuk Paul Koon Poh Keong. He notes that there are no new smelters coming up in the next two to three years, a key factor which should fundamentally improve prices, as global aluminium consumption outside China is expected to rise. “We are confident that the aluminium market will be better, and our performance should be in line. A good price range would probably be between US$1,900 (RM6,095) and US$2,000 (RM6,416) per tonne. Below US$1,800 (RM5,774) per tonne, a lot of smelters will still be losing money,” he says. Group executive vice chairman Koon Poh Ming says its plants are low-cost smelters which sit within the...
The London Metal Exchange (LME) has appointed Walid Al Attar as a member of its Aluminium Committee. Al Attar, responsible for marketing and sales at Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), is the first representative from the Middle East to sit on the committee. “We welcome Mr Al Attar to the committee,” says Garry Jones, LME CEO and vice chairman of the Aluminium Committee. “The Middle East is an increasingly significant region for the global aluminium industry, so it is appropriate that it is represented on the committee, which essentially acts as a sounding board for the LME’s global strategy in aluminium.” The LME has worked with the Gulf Aluminium Council to further its relationship with the metals industry in the region. Al Attar says: “The LME Aluminium Committee is an important forum...
State-owned aluminium maker PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) will spend around US$750 million on a steam-fueled power plant, which would double its production capacity, starting from mid-next year in anticipation of higher energy demand. Inalum president director Winardi Sunoto said Friday that the firm expected to cover 35 percent of the 600-megawatt power plant project from internal cash. It was now seeking to generate the rest from external sources. “The construction of the power plant will take up to 40 months, which is very long compared to a smelter or seaport, so it is the priority,” he told reporters after a meeting with Industry Minister MS Hidayat. The new power plant project is part of $1.9 billion that Inalum will spend on a wide array of development projects over the...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s Casthouse Department has successfully completed 1.5 million work hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI). This safety achievement demonstrates Alba’s commitment to safety and maintaining a zero-accident work environment. A celebration was held recently to appreciate the Cathouse employees, which was attended by Alba Executives, respective Department managers and Safety, Health & Environment personnel and Alba Labour Union representatives. Words of encouragement were expressed to boost the team’s efforts towards maintaining a safe working environment for employees across the plant. Applauding the employees’ safety efforts, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said: “At Alba, we believe that all work-related injuries and illnesses are preventable. Due to...
Enova, a public enterprise which supports new energy and climate-related technology development, has decided to contribute NOK 1.5 billion toward Hydro's full scale next-generation electrolysis pilot project at Karmøy, on the west coast of Norway. This contribution is subject to approval by the European Free Trade Association's surveillance authority ESA. "The technology pilot at Karmøy has the potential of becoming the world's most energy-efficient production line for aluminium. We are pleased that Enova sees how important this effort is for Norwegian industry and for Hydro, and that they are supporting the project," says Hydro President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg. The pilot plant is planned to have a capacity of 70,000 tonnes of aluminium per year, and could begin production in...
Aluminum demand continues to rise as in addition to traditional uses, the metal is being increasingly used as a substitute for the more expensive copper in electric cabling and for steel in cars. The demand from these segments will increase by 4.9% in 2014, to 52.7m tonnes. Demand is expected to grow by an even greater amount, about 6%, helping to bring the market closer to balance. The recoveries in the auto and construction sectors in the developed world, particularly the US, are positive for aluminum. What's more, aluminum's widespread use in consumer goods also suggests it will benefit from China's economic rebalancing towards more consumer-led growth. With the wide contango, we see no reason why people should consider getting rid of the metal. They will hold on to it and keep things...
According to a report of the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper, Dak Nong’s provincial authority had asked the relevant agencies to quicken a project cost more than $500 mn involving the construction of an aluminium plant. Once the construction of the plant gets over, the plant invested by a Vietnamese private firm, Tran Hong Quan Trading Co, would use alumina from Dak Nong’s Nhan Co complexfor producing 450,000 tons of aluminium per year, stated the report.
The Union Government has sanctioned the State’s much-awaited proposal for establishment of an Aluminium Park at Angul at a cost of around INR 125 crore. The project is expected to attract investment worth INR 500 crore in the initial phase, said an Industries Department official. The apex committee on Modified Industrial Infrastructure Up-gradation Scheme (MIIUS) has approved the project and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has sanctioned it, the official informed The Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) of Odisha and the National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) have formed a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the name of Angul Aliminium Park Private Limited to develop the project at Angul near the Nalco...
Tuesday night the Public Service Commission is hearing public input on two cases Noranda, a Tennessee based Aluminum Company filed against Ameren Missouri in February. One is an allegation of over-charging which according to Ameren Missouri, is without merit. The second is a rate shift request by Noranda which would result in a subsidy of increases to customers. It`s costing the City of St. Louis over $90 million dollars, that`s why the city is opposed to this plan. At stake, an increase in electric rates of around a half-billion dollars over a 10 year period. According to Vice President of Communications at Ameren Missouri Warren Wood, he said, “When you take a look at these two suits, you can clearly see that it`s a coordinated effort by a hedge fund company, to extract millions of...
United Company Rusal PLC, the world's biggest aluminum producer, plans by next month to begin offering customers the option of using CME Group Inc.'s new aluminum futures contract to set prices, a company executive said in an interview. Rusal's use of CME futures would give a boost to the fledgling contract, which has been slow to gain traction since its launch in May. Aluminum, which is used in everything from window frames and beer cans to automotive engine blocks and air-conditioners, is primarily traded on the London Metal Exchange. CME offered its contract as an alternative to LME's after some large consumers of aluminum complained about delays to remove metal from the LME's storage system. Daily trading volume has averaged about 100 contracts this month on CME, compared with an...
Ghana will boost power production during its World Cup matches and asked the nation’s largest aluminum smelter to reduce consumption to make sure that scheduled blackouts don’t interfere with Black Stars’ games. Neighbor Ivory Coast has agreed to supply 50 megawatts to Ghana during its games, which don’t overlap with its own matches, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission said in an e-mailed statement. The Volta Aluminum Co. has been asked to reduce power use during Black Stars matches, the agency said. Ghana plays its first game on June 16 in Natal, Brazil, against the U.S. The tournament starts tomorrow, with the host nation’s team facing Croatia. “These plans are put in place for consumers to watch uninterruptible football matches during the World Cup,” the agency said in the...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) continues to look forward and focus on future growth strategies, according to a statement issued by the Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa. The statement was made following the second quarterly meeting for the year 2014 that was held on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at the Alba Boardroom, Administration Building. The Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa added: “Alba remains committed to accelerate our efforts on Project Titan to ensure we remain cost competitive. In addition I commend all employees for their efforts on Safety with Alba recently achieving 3 million hours without an LTI.” A presentation on the progress of the Line 6 Bankable Feasibly Study was also given...
The biggest industrial employer in Montenegro, the bankrupt aluminium plant was sold to a local firm on Tuesday for 28 mn euros. Uniprom, the new owner of the aluminium firm promised to invest a total of 76 mn euros in the KAP plant in the coming next four years. "We are starting today a new programme for the better future of KAP, which we consider a pillar of Montenegro's economy," said Uniprom chief, Veselin Pejovi. Last October, a commercial court in Montenegro declared KAP bankrupt estimating that their deadline for submitting restructuing plans had expired. It has been estimated that the aluminium smelter owes 360 mn euros that equals to a debt worth 10% of the gross domestic product of the Balkan country. Last year, the firm had cut down 500 employees but even then with 700...
Prices of aluminium futures fell by 0.31% to INR 113.10 per kg on 10th June as speculators trimmed their positions amidst a weak trend in aluminium at LME. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, in July, aluminium for delivery fell by 0.31% or 35p to INR 113.10 per kg and that resulted in a total business turnover of 16 lots. In June, aluminium for delivery fell by 0.27% or 30p to trade at INR 112.40 per kg with a total turnover of 350 lots. The marketmen are of the view that apart from the wekness in aluminium at LME, low industrial demand at local spot markets put pressure on the prices of the metal at futures trade.
Metals traders are rushing to secure copper and aluminium stocks following a financing probe in the northeast Chinese port of Qingdao, with at least one company asking courts to freeze inventory while traders move metal to other ports to prevent possible seizure. CITIC Resources, an arm of Chinese banking, trading and metals conglomerate CITIC Group, said on Tuesday it had asked courts in Qingdao to secure alumina – the raw material for aluminium – and copper it had stored at Qingdao Port. At least half a dozen European, Asian and American banks fear that a private Chinese aluminium producer used the same stocks of metals as collateral against multiple loans, turning what they thought was a low-risk transaction into an unsecured loan. An investigation is under way as concern rises over...
China Steel Group, Taiwan’s largest steel maker, has said that the aluminium making arm of the company has finished the project expansion’s second phase to strengthen the capacity of the firm for manufacturing of high-quality aluminium products. With the close of second phase of the program, the company has completed its expansion plan of NT$15 billion (US$500 million) and it is expected that it will help the company to churn out about 266,000 metric tonnes of aluminum per year, said China Steel. Su Wei-jen, Chairman of C.S. Aluminum, said with the rising awareness of environmental protection, a number of aluminium manufacturers in Southeast China and China have put efforts on churning out high quality aluminium products to meet the growing demand. C.S. Aluminum will cut preparation time...
