Century Aluminum’s proposed USD 4 billion primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma, is “moving forward on all fronts” as the company prepares for construction, despite local opposition and legal challenges, CEO Jesse Gary said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Developed jointly by Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the project is designed to produce 750,000 tonnes of primary aluminum annually, potentially doubling U.S. primary aluminum production. The facility is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and add USD 1.5 billion to Oklahoma’s gross domestic product, according to company estimates. The partners had targeted construction to begin by the end of 2026. However, local restrictions and permitting challenges have affected the...
LME aluminium stocks declined by more than half during the first nine months of 2026, falling by 267,875 tonnes from 509,250 tonnes on January 2 to 241,375 tonnes on September 30 (52.6 per cent). The decline continued throughout the period, with average warehouse inventories falling each month. Compared with the same period in 2025, monthly average stocks were lower across all nine months, with the gap widening in the third quarter. Q1 LME aluminium stocks fall 18.2 per cent LME aluminium inventories continued to decline during Q1 2026. Month-end stocks fell from 495,725 tonnes in January to 465,550 tonnes in February, before dropping further to 416,775 tonnes in March. Monthly average inventories stood at 498,670 tonnes in January, 481,801 tonnes in February and 440,710 tonnes in March....
Grow with
AL Circle
LME three-month aluminum plunged USD 41.5/mt or 1.84% overnight to USD 2,212.5/mt after stocks climbed a further 6,825 mt to 5,088,775 mt and US home sales data for February came out missing expectations. Positions for the light metal surged 14,600 lots. Slow Chinese consumption and hampered US economic recovery will dampen investor confidence. SMM expects LME aluminum to test USD 2,200/mt and move between USD 2,200-2,240/mt during today’s trading. The most active SHFE aluminum contract for May delivery is expected to move between RMB 16,100-16,150/mt as resistance builds at the 60-day moving average. Spot discounts over the SHFE current-month aluminum price are expected to narrow to RMB 30-60/mt as the latter slips. Trading will stay light though.
A fire occurred at the seawater cooling tower of Qatalum’s Power Plant at 2am on Saturday, March 17. Qatalum Emergency fire services, the Civil Defense and mutual aid partners extinguished the fire and no one was injured during the incident. Aluminium production was not affected and Qatalum continues to produce at full capacity. The gas turbines were unaffected by the fire, while the steam turbines were shut down by Qatalum as a consequence of the fire in the cooling tower. Mitigating actions are being implemented by Qatalum management.
RUSAL, the world’s top aluminium maker, took a $1.4 US billion hit in its 2011 financials on Monday on the value of its stake in Norilsk Nickel, whose fate is at the centre of a row between two Russian billionaire shareholders. The writedown, and a qualified opinion by RUSAL’s auditor on the valuation of its stake in the Arctic miner, are likely to add to friction between RUSAL’s CEO and main owner Oleg Deripaska and disgruntled minority investors led by Viktor Vekselberg. The charge, resulting from a series of share buybacks by Norilsk last year, pushed RUSAL’s net profit down by 92 percent to $237 US million for the year. The Norilsk purchase, made at the top of the market in 2008, has caused RUSAL’s shareholders to fall out over Deripaska’s refusal to accept offers from Norilsk to buy...
India's state-run National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) is targeting revenue of 70.73 billion rupees ($1.41 billion) for the next fiscal year, about 8 percent higher than the current year's target, the company said in a statement. NALCO, India's third-largest aluminium maker, on Monday signed a pact with the m ines ministry on physical and financial targets for the 2012/13 fiscal year starting in April. It operates mines, smelter and power plant in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The company aims to produce 6.3 million tonnes of bauxite, 450,000 tonnes of aluminium and 6.84 billion kilowatt hour of power in 2012/13, the statement said. NALCO has reported net sales of 50.68 billion rupees in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, with bauxite production of 3.71 million tonnes...
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Over 250 invited aluminium industry leader will be gathering in Abu Dhabi on 29 April in one of the unique settings and unparalleled occasions that is being organized by Gulf Aluminium Council. The Second Gulf Aluminium Dinner is an exclusive by invitation only event whereby executives from aluminium producing companies, technology providers, power generation manufacturers, traders, aluminium users, raw material producers, equipment manufacturers, services organization, banks, suppliers and government officials from different parts of the world will meet to celebrate the success of the aluminium industry in the Gulf and to build and strengthen the relationship that already exists between the regional and international organization that have aluminium business...
London-based Vedanta Resources Plc. has offered nearly Rs16,000 crore for buying the government’s residual stakes in Hindustan Zinc Ltd, or HZL, and Bharat Aluminium Company, or Balco, at a time when the government is hard pressed to raise funds to reduce its fiscal deficit. Analysts said the deal, if it goes through, seems like an inexpensive acquisition for Vedanta. If it were to get the government’s nod, the transaction would bolster cash flow at the metals and mining conglomerate controlled by Anil Agarwal, making way for swifer management decisions and complete control over the assets of the two companies. The government owns 29.5% of HZL and 49% of Balco. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, on the other hand, would have to assess the fairness of the offer, weighing it...
Daily average primary aluminium output in February dropped to 68,900 tonnes compared with a revised 69,000 in January and 69,600 in February 2011, provisional figures from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) showed. Total production in February (29 days) was 1.998 million tonnes, compared with 2.139 million tonnes in January (31 days) and 1.950 million in February 2011. Figures from the IAI also showed daily average primary aluminium output in China rose to 53,400 tonnes in February, up from 48,900 tonnes in January. Total primary aluminium production in the country rose to 1.548 million tonnes in February from 1.517 million tonnes in January. Production was up compared to February last year, when the average daily output was 46,600 tonnes and total primary aluminium production...
Singapore aluminum premiums are rising amid tightening supply in Southeast Asian terminals as large volumes of metal move into long-term financing deals. In Singapore warehouses, premiums to three-month London Metal Exchange aluminum are around $90-$100 a metric ton, $15 higher than a month ago, Singapore-based traders said. Offers for prompt metal are as high as $120/ton, one of the traders said. They attributed the higher premiums to tightening supply in Singapore and Malaysia, as market participants continue to move large tonnages of aluminum into financing deals, which can keep metal off the market for years at a time. Warehouse deals became a major feature of the market when demand fell during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Producers struck deals with investors, traders and banks by...
Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (CHALCO) released 2011 earnings report on March 17. According to the report, China’s primary aluminum output was about 19.45 million mt in 2011, up 24.3% YoY, while China’s primary aluminum consumption was about 19.50 million mt, up 15.4% YoY, with output growth faster than consumption growth. In addition, global primary aluminum output was about 45.60 million mt in 2011, up 8.8% YoY, while global primary aluminum consumption was about 45.10 million mt, up 10.0% YoY. Operating rates at global primary aluminum enterprises were 84% as of the end of December 2011, with operating rates in China at 83%. SMM believes domestic aluminum output and consumption remained relatively balanced in 2011 based on CHALCO’s earnings report. Global primary aluminum supply and...
Total world aluminum production in February fell by 141,000 metric tons to 1.998 million tons, according to figures released Tuesday by the International Aluminum Institute. World production in January stood at 2.139 million tons. February production was up 48,000 tons compared to the same month of 2011, when output was recorded at 1.950 million tons, the IAI said. The IAI details production as follows, in thousands of tons: February '12 January '12 February '11 Africa 133 146 136 North America 381 407 368 South America 168 175 171 Asia 203 216 202 West Europe 295 314 304 E/Central Europe 348 373 332 Oceania 181 196 178 GAC/Gulf Region 289 312 259 Total 1.998 2.139 1.950 NOTE: The data included in this IAI Statistical Report have been derived exclusively from returns by the primary...
LME aluminum closed down USD 25/mt or 1.1% at USD 2,254/mt after founding its low at USD 2,237/mt. The metal moved mainly against the US dollar index, which climbed but fell later. Latest LME aluminum stocks surged 13,000 mt to 5,081,950 mt. While the Greek debt crisis has temporarily eased and US economic data is improving, worries towards US economic recovery stay. In addition, the euro has strengthened for 5 consecutive days against the US dollar. SMM expects LME aluminum to stay between USD 2,240-2,290/mt during today’s trading. The most active SHFE aluminum contract for May delivery is expected to move between RMB 16,140-16,220/mt. Spot aluminum will continue struggling at RMB 16,000/mt in the face of high stocks and weak demand. Spot discounts over the SHFE current-month aluminum...
BHUBANESWAR: India's state-run National Aluminium Co (NALCO) has issued a tender to export 3,000 tonnes each of aluminium ingots and aluminium sows, Ansuman Das, commercial director at NALCO, said on Tuesday. The last date for submission of bids is March 26. The metals would be shipped in batches from April to June, he said. NALCO, whose tenders serve as a global benchmark, last week sold 2,100 tonnes of aluminium billets at close to $165 per tonne premium over the average LME cash price on a cost, insurance and freight basis to a Hong Kong-based buyer.
National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union ministry of mines on the aluminium major's physical and financial targets for 2012-13. As per the MoU, the company's turnover target has been fixed at Rs 7073 crore, which is Rs 500 crore higher than that of the current fiscal. The aluminum major has projected annual production target of 6.3 million tonnes of bauxite and 2.1 million tonnes of alumina hydrate from its mines and refinery complex at Damanjodi in Koraput district. Similarly, aluminum production from the company’s smelter has been projected at 0.45 million tonnes while power generation has been projected at 6842 million units from its captive power plant (CPP) at Angul. The MoU lays special emphasis on corporate social...
Dubai Aluminium (Dubal), a major single-site aluminium smelter, will co-host a major global metal quality workshop with Pyrotek, an international metals and technical services company. The fifth international Metal Quality Workshop (MQW5) is set to open today (March 19) at the Meydan Hotel in Dubai, and will run up to March 22. The forum will target improving performance in the production and processing of aluminium: topics which also reflect Dubal’s commitment to absolute quality and continuous improvement. A not-for-profit, invitation-only event, MQW5 will focus on improving metal quality, operating performance and productivity in primary aluminium smelters, secondary re-melters, casthouses and foundries. The agenda includes technical papers and case studies on improving performance,...
The phase 2 financing of the Maaden-Alcoa joint aluminum project in Saudi Arabia has been awarded the Middle East Mining & Metals Deal of the Year 2011. Project Finance magazine, the flagship international infrastructure finance title of Euromoney Publications, also named Maaden as the Middle East Sponsor of the Year 2011. Commenting on the award, Maaden Vice President for Finance Khalid Al-Rowais said the aluminum project will strengthen Maaden’s position as a major industrial presence in Saudi Arabia, creating jobs, regional development, and providing the basis for the establishment of new downstream industries in the Kingdom. The joint venture partnership with Alcoa will also enable Maaden to quickly reach levels of operating excellence and global market reach that will establish the...
State-owned aluminium firm Nalco plans to invest Rs 2,343 crore next fiscal, a 76 per cent rise in capital expenditure over FY'12, to increase capacity, according to 2012-13 Budget documents. A disinvestment candidate for the government's Rs 30,000 crore mop up target, Nalco spent Rs 1,333 crore this fiscal. The Budgeted outlay for the company in 2011-12 was 1,057 crore, but it was subsequently raised to 1,333 crore, the documents show. The Odisha-based firm plans to invest Rs 57,903 crore by 2020 mainly for setting up two aluminium smelters, a report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal and Steel had stated earlier. The proposed outlay includes Rs 16,500 crore for setting up a 5 million tonnes (MT) smelter in Indonesia, with 1,250 MW power plant. Another smelter of the same...
LME three-month aluminum closed at USD 2,281/mt, a recent high on Monday as progress in Greek debt strengthened the euro to boost investor confidence. 8,713 lots of contracts were transacted while positions dropped 3,406 lots to 722,042 lots. LME aluminum stocks stayed above 5 million mt, though. Commodities have stepped in a downward track as the Greek debt crisis has temporarily settled down and US officials showed confidence in recovery of its economy. As such, SMM expects LME three-month aluminum to test resistance at USD 2,300/mt and move between USD 2,250-2,300/mt during today’s trading. The most active SHFE aluminum contract for May delivery is expected to move between RMB 16,140-16,220/mt. Spot aluminum may test resistance at RMB 16,000/mt.
The Eastern European aluminum industry had total revenues of $9.4 billion in 2010, representing a compound annual rate of change (CARC) of -4.2% for the period spanning 2006-2010. Industry production volumes increased with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.1% between 2006 and 2010, to reach a total of 4.2 million tons in 2010. The performance of the industry is forecast to accelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 7.7% for the five-year period 2010-2015, which is expected to drive the industry to a value of $13.7 billion by the end of 2015. Introduction Aluminum in Eastern Europe industry profile provides top-line qualitative and quantitative summary information including: market size (value , and forecast to 5). The profile also contains descriptions of the leading players...
