A rolling-mill drive can trip even when its encoder passes a bench test. A refinery instrument can report erratic readings with no obvious process upset. Engineers may suspect the devices first, but the installed cables, mating interfaces and routing deserve the same scrutiny. Intermittent faults sometimes disappear the moment an assembly is touched. That uncertainty has an economic cost: investigation consumes maintenance time, and a missed control signal may delay equipment availability. This article concerns sensor, instrumentation, encoder, fieldbus and appropriately rated low-power auxiliary interfaces, typically carrying signals or modest loads—not power feeders. Main motor circuits, plant distribution, rectifier outputs and potline busbars are outside its scope. No connector type...
The most-traded SHFE aluminium contract opened at RMB 23,255per tonne in the night session on Oct 8, hit a high of RMB 23,365 per tonne and a low of RMB 23,195 per tonne, and closed at RMB 23,220 per tonne, down RMB 165 per tonne or 0.71 from the previous close. Futures quickly dipped and weakened, with prices falling below all cyclical moving averages of 5/10/20/40/60. All moving averages turned downward to form resistance, highlighting a bearish pattern. Trading volume during the session was 74,115 lots, with open interest at 269,000 lots, down 819 lots, mainly driven by bulls cutting positions and exiting. On the technical front, the 4-hour MACD death cross continued, with DIFF well below DEA. Green bars expanded significantly, and bearish momentum continued to be released. The LME...
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Aluminum giant Rusal could consider deeper capacity cuts if prices for the metal continue to languish around levels last seen in the aftermath of the financial crisis, a senior executive said. The aluminum industry is struggling with excess capacity, rising costs and weak prices. RusAl estimates a fifth of global production outside China is loss-making, even with demand expected to grow 6 to 7 percent in 2013. Last year, the company promised to slash 300,000 tons of capacity, a 7 percent drop, and production dropped 4 percent in the first quarter of this year. But rival Alcoa said this month it could shut down as much as another 11 percent of smelting capacity, 460,000 tons, to remain competitive. "There is a decision already, supported by our board of directors, and it is 7 percent from...
NALCO reported a 13% dip in net profit to USD 44.20 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 despite higher income. NALCO had reported a net profit of USD 50.67 million for the corresponding period of FY12. Total income of the company increased marginally by 4.63% to USD 335.49 million in the fourth quarter as compared to USD 320.75 million in the corresponding period of previous fiscal. The other income of the company, however, declined to USD 21.38 million during January-March 2013 from USD 28.57 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Total expenses of the company decreased marginally to USD 284.27 milion during the quarter under review. The company had recorded total expenses of USD 287.69 million during the same quarter of 2011-12. For the full year ended...
Alcoa won the Industry Leadership Award for Aluminum at the Inaugural Platts Global Metals Awards, sponsored by Platts, a leading global provider of energy, petrochemical and metals information. Alcoa was recognised for taking decisive action resulting in a substantial transformation or change of direction in the aluminum industry. “It is extremely gratifying to be recognised for our leadership in the aluminum industry as we mark our 125th anniversary since our incorporation," said Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld. "This award is a tribute to our dedicated employees who have made Alcoa an industry leader.” Executives and companies from 11 countries were selected as finalists for the awards, which recognise exemplary performance in nearly a dozen categories. Judging criteria for the...
DUBAL aims to recruit a further 200 UAE nationals in 2013, and is on track to achieve this target: by end-April, said Sultan Al Sabri, Vice President: Human Resources & Organisation Effectiveness. Sultan Al Sabri advises that 110 UAE nationals were recruited during the course of 2012, bringing the total accumulative number of new Emirati recruits hired by DUBAL since 2008 to 496. The cost to DUBAL of those newly recruited in 2012 - comprising salaries, benefits and training - amounted to AED 25 million (equivalent to AED 225,000 per annum per new Emirati employee). As further evidence of DUBAL 's commitment to developing UAE national talent, on-going investment in skills development and training resulted in 9.96 training days per UAE national employee in 2012 (up from 9.13 training days...
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), received a delegation from Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL), at its Sustainable Building in Al Quoz, as part of DEWA's ongoing stakeholder-outreach and visits. The largest government sustainable building in the world, DEWA's Sustainable Building in Al Quoz has received a platinum rating for green buildings. During the visit, DEWA provided the team from DUBAL with an overview of the building's operations, functions, and customer services. They were given a detailed tour of DEWA's customer service centre, which provides a variety of services: its customer call centre, engineering and control centre, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) centre for water systems, recycling stations used to recycle waste water within the building, and the...
Hongtai Aluminium is building a RMB29 billion integrated aluminium facility at Baiyin City with a combined capacity of 1Mt/yr primary aluminium, 500kt/yr carbon, 400kt/yr al-based alloy billet and 100kt/yr high purity aluminium. The plant has a 2gW captive power plant and produces 15Mt/yr of coal.
The Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) recorded losses of RMB975 million for Q1 2013 and attributes its performance to stunted economic growth, over capacity and falling prices. Last year, the company reported deficits of RMB8.2 billion. Other Chinese aluminium producers offered similarly disappointing Q1 figures. • Yunnan Aluminium posted losses of RMB74.5 million against deficits last year of RMB23.8 million. • Zhongfu Industrial reported losses of RMB115.4 million. • Henan Shenhuo’s profits were down 68% at RMB89.7 million. • Jiaozuo Wanfang offered net profits of RMB71 million, up by 160.11% year-on-year. The company did receive a RMB51.36 million government subsidy. China had a 27Mt/year aluminium production capacity at the end of 2012, but only produced 20.3Mt, meaning that...
The European Commission expects to complete a review by October of ways to help Europe's struggling aluminium industry, looking at policies such as on import duties and long-term power contracts. About 2 million tonnes of aluminium production have been shut down in Europe since the 2008 financial crisis, while global production has grown by about 10 million tonnes, mostly in Asia and the Middle East, according to Reuters data. “We are looking at the cumulative cost of EU legislation on the aluminium sector to identify excessive administrative burdens, regulatory overlaps and inconsistencies," said Fabrizia Benini, cabinet member in the office of Antonio Tajani, EC vice-president for industry. The review into the impact of EU policy on aluminium, dubbed a 'fitness check', will look at...
The volume of aluminium export from Sumatra is much smaller than imports. During the first quarter of 2013, Sumatra aluminum export activity shipped via container through terminal BICT totaled 581 tons, according to Tengku Irfansyah, Assistant Manager of Legal and Public IPCs I Belawan International Container Terminal (BICT). The number edged up 1.75% compared to the same period in 2012, amounting to 571 tons. At the same time, North Sumatra also imported 6,682 tons of aluminum containers through the terminal BICT and increased 67.38 percent compared to the same period in 2012 the number of 3,992 tons.
Century Aluminum Company announced that it has priced $250 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due 2021. The notes will have an interest rate of 7.5% per annum and are being issued at a price equal to 98.532% of their face value. Century intends to use all net proceeds from the sale of the notes to repay all of its $250 million outstanding 8% Senior Secured Notes due 2014. As the offering is a private placement, the notes will be offered and sold only to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and to certain non-U.S. persons in transactions outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act. The notes to be offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the...
The French industrial engineer Fives Group is in talks with Emal, the UAE-based aluminium smelter, and Kizad, the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, about a multimillion euro partnership that could create as many as 100 high-tech jobs for nationals. Frédéric Sanchez, the chief executive of Fives Group, held talks with Khaled Salmeen, the chief executive of Kizad, and representatives from Emal at the Abu Dhabi investment forum in Paris on Wednesday. Mr Sanchez has proposed setting up a new operation within Kizad to provide Emal with state-of-the-art technology to manufacture anodes crucial to the production of aluminium. The group also proposed providing technology for treating the polluting emissions that are a by-product of the aluminium smelting process. "All of the big aluminium...
The Aluminium Smelting Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) has announced the launch of its annual Scholarship Programme aimed at supporting local communities. Located in Ikot Abasi, in Akwa Ibom state, ALSCON is part of the United Company RUSAL a leading, global aluminium producer, while assistance in the field of education is an important part of the company’s corporate social responsibility. In 2009, the ALSCON Smelter set up a scholarship programme with the main objective being to provide financial support to local students of the Ikot Abasi LGA as well as its neighbouring areas, according to a release. In 2013, the programme plans to grant scholarships to students from communities from Ikot Abasi, Mkpat Enin, Eastern Obolo, and Oruk Anam in the Akwa Ibom state as well as to neighbouring...
HSBC’s flash China manufacturing PMI for May dropped unexpectedly, slipping into contraction for the first time in seven months. Manufacturing in the euro zone rebounded slightly, but still indicated contraction. Manufacturing in the US slowed, but did point to expansion. Market worries remained despite the fact that US initial jobless claims dropped more than expected. Against this backdrop, LME aluminum surrendered gains recorded during the previous session, tumbling to a low of USD 1,845/mt last night. However, LME aluminum did edge up at the tail of trading on dip-buying before finally closing down 1.44% at USD 1,852/mt. Latest LME aluminum inventories increased 3,350 mt to 5,221,525 mt. LME aluminum will stagnate at USD 1,850/mt and move within a USD 1,840-1,860/mt price range on...
A scheduled Wednesday sale of bankrupt US aluminum producer Ormet Corp. to Wayzata Investment Partners was postponed until June 3 by a federal bankruptcy judge because negotiations are continuing on the disputed terms of the proposed transaction. Judge Mary Walrath of the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington had been expected to rule on Hannibal, Ohio-based Ormet's request to be sold to Smelter Acquisition LLC, a portfolio company managed by Wayzata, for $221 million in debt forgiveness and cash. Ormet, owner and operator of the 260,000 mt/year Hannibal smelter and a 540,000 mt alumina refinery in Burnside, Louisiana, told the court this week it faced possible liquidation if the sale was not approved. Wayzata, the stalking horse bidder, was the only company to...
Fixed asset investment (FAI) in the Chinese non-ferrous metals industry increased by 25.31% for Q1 2013, reaching a total of RMB82.34 and accounting for 1.42% of total FAI in the country. Private investment in the sector rose by 31.15% to RMB57.55 billion and accounted for almost 70% of total metals industry FAI, up by just over 3% over the same period in 2012. Investment in mining projects was up by 3.04% year-on-year and accounted for 14.70% of total FAI in the metals industry. Regionally, Henan achieved RMB9.53 billion of FAI, closely followed by Jiangsu (RMB8.5 billion) and Shandong (RMB6.4 billion). The non-ferrous metals industry secured funding to the tune of RMB112.40 billion, up 35.36% year-on-year. Total fixed asset investment for aluminium mining during the period was RMB983...
Furnace specialist Seco/Warwick Allied recently installed seven soaking pit furnaces for Hindalco in Hirakud, Eastern India. The furnaces feature side-mounted fans (for improved maintenance access) and a combination of fan and heater arrangements to produce separate control zones along the vertical length of the slabs. There is also a patented adjustable baffle design. Each furnace can handle 128kt at maximum load. The overall charge height is 5 metres maximum and 3.5 metres minimum from eight to 16 slabs per batch, says the company. The furnaces, which are designed for vertical loaded slabs to process can body stock, are designed for electrical heating and feature an individual self-propelled lid (or cover) mechanism. They are also equipped with a PLC-based control and monitoring system.
With its future likely to be decided Wednesday by a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware, US aluminum producer Ormet told the court this week its losses continued to accelerate in April, increasing to $41.8 million for the first four months of 2013. April marked the third month in a row the Hannibal, Ohio-based company had piled on the red ink. Ormet said it lost $17.3 million in April following a loss of $12.5 million in February and $14.1 million in March. Ormet last turned in a profit in January -- $2.2 million -- before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on February 25. Ormet reported cash and cash equivalents on hand of $2.4 million at the end of April, a slight increase from $1.9 million at the close of January. In the report, Ormet said its revenue from sow sales...
US Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke’s testimony to the congress overnight was in support of QE3 to propel US economy. However, Bernanke also said that asset buying may be scaled back later this year if economy improves further. The minutes of April policy meeting indicate intense debate among Fed officials over whether bond purchases should be curtailed. Later, optimistic sentiment from continuation of easing monetary policy in the short term faded. This helped the US dollar index hit a fresh high for the year following plunge earlier, tempering gains of commodity prices. LME aluminum broke through the 30-day moving average to a high of USD 1,884.5/mt during the European session, but retreated from the 30-day moving average at the tail of trading. Finally, LME aluminum ended the day up...
