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....
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VHE's enhanced ohmmeter is able to measure the electrical resistance between points of different voltage potential. Conventional ohmmeters do not have this capability. Much of the equipment installed in aluminium smelter potroom has significant electrical potential to earth (or ground). The series connection of the pot busbar systems means that pots may have a potential to earth of 1500 volts or more. Alumina dust and metallic objects can compromise the installed electrical insulation and it is necessary to monitor insulation performance on a regular basis. Traditional instruments for this purpose have been large and cumbersome. VHE's enhanced ohmmeter is portable, lightweight and fitted with comfortable shoulder straps, freeing both hands to use the measuring probes. The instrument has a...
Rio Tinto Alcan plans to begin restarting its 70-year-old aluminum smelter in Shawinigan, Que. in a few days and have it operating at full capacity by the second quarter, the company announced Friday. A circuit breaker failure on Dec. 29 cut the smelter's annual production capacity in half to 50,000 tonnes. The company, a division of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO), said Friday it will gradually restore two pot lines and production will be at full capacity by the second quarter of 2012. The smelter, which uses old Soderberg technology, has been scheduled to shut down by the end of 2014 because of provincial environmental regulations. Stephen Jacques, primary metal chief operating officer, said the restoration of full production capacity is great news for employees and...
Alcoa Defense has congratulated Austal USA on the christening of the Coronado, an all-aluminum combat ship that will feature aluminum supplied by Alcoa Davenport Works. Inaugurated last month in Mobile, Ala., the Coronado is the second Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship, or LCS, to be built. With a trimaran-hull design and the largest flight deck of any U.S. Navy combatant, the 127-meter ship is one of the single largest uses of aluminum in the world, Alcoa said. Alcoa announced in October 2010 that it had won a contract to produce aluminum sheet and plate through 2014 for Austal’s military and commercial vessels, including the Joint High Speed Vessel that Austal is building for the U.S. Navy. At the time, Davenport Works officials said the contract would mean even more production...
LME aluminum for three-month delivery closed USD 45.5/mt higher at USD 2,255.5/mt last Friday after US new jobs and unemployment rate came out better-than-expected. The metal initially dropped to near USD 2,200/mt before US jobs data came out. Despite of debt woes in Europe, strong US jobs data will continue to boost market sentiment in Asia. SMM expects LME aluminum to struggle at the 5-day moving average and move between USD 2,220-2,290/mt during today’s trading. The most active SHFE aluminum contract for delivery in April is expected to test support at RMB 16,300/mt and move between RMB 16,250-16,350/mt. Spot aluminum is expected to trade at discounts of RMB 60-120/mt over the SHFE current-month aluminum price as downstream businesses are still in holiday pattern before the Lantern...
Chinalco, the parent of Aluminum Corporation of China, also known as Chalco (2600), plans to list its engineering unit in Hong Kong. China Aluminum International Engineering Corporation aims to raise up to HK$3.9 billion in March or April. It is mainly involved in infrastructure construction and engineering in the mainland. Chinalco is also preparing to spin off its Peru copper mining project in the third quarter, eyeing HK$7.8 billion. The project, in central Peru, is due to start by the end of next year. Annual output is estimated at 250,000 tonnes. Chinalco, the mainland's largest aluminum producer, has diversified its assets recent years to offset decreasing profits from copper mining. On Monday, Chalco posted a profit warning, saying net income for last year would dive 50 percent due...
JW Aluminum launched a new global service to use raw materials from international businesses for its current customer base, the company said today. “With the addition of Global 1 Source Solutions to our portfolio of services, we are truly a global supplier, not simply a domestic supplier,” said Chester Roush, chief commercial officer of JW Aluminum, in a news release. “Our consolidated approach means our customers can rely on JW Aluminum for all their aluminum requirements.” Roush said the partnerships will expand the company’s product line and its footprint in the transportation, consumer durables, packaging and construction markets. The company, which has a facility in Berkeley County, also will provide support after the sale of its products. “We want our customers to feel secure that...
Aluminum is no longer in a downtrend and they look for further prices gains. LME aluminum hit a four-month high of $2,310 a metric ton in late January, said Harbor Intelligence in a research note. According to Harbor Intelligence, investment activity was the most significant driver of the price action with funds buying to cover positions in which they previously sold. However, physical aluminum demand also bounced. The rise in LME canceled warrants, higher regional premiums, an increase in LME cash prices and anecdotal evidence. This financial and physical demand to continue, propelling prices toward $2,400 a metric ton before the end of May and $2,600 a metric ton before year-end. Harbor looks for a 2012 average of $2,496 per ton.
Fitch Ratings has assigned India-based Vedanta Aluminium Ltd's (VAL) proposed INR60bn non-convertible debentures (NCDs) a 'Fitch A-(ind)(exp)' rating. A list of VAL's outstanding ratings (including the above) is provided at the end of the commentary. The ratings benefit from VAL's strong linkages with its parent, Vedanta Resources Plc (VRPLC: Long-Term Issuer Default Rating: 'BB+'/Stable), driven by the key role VAL is expected to play in the parent's global aluminium strategy. The strong linkage is also reflected in VRPLC and another subsidiary - Sterlite Industries India Ltd - guaranteeing over 90% of VAL's total external debt. VAL has also received unsecured loans from Sterlite and other group companies. The ratings are, however, constrained by the non-availability of captive bauxite...
Reuters cited Mr Oleg Deripaska CEO of UC RUSAL as saying that Russia's UC RUSAL could cut output by 6% in the next 18 months. It may be up to 6% which we expect may happen in the next 18 months. The company which accounts for about 10% of primary global aluminum output said last week that it had no plans to follow US rival Alcoa Inc's lead in cutting production. Aluminum which has a wide range of industrial applications in sectors such as aeronautics and automobile production is a key indicator of global manufacturing demand. Its smelters could continue operations even if prices fall to USD 1,900 per tonne. According to HSBC, it enjoys a relatively low production cost because it sources 80% of its electricity from hydropower plants in Siberia. Benchmark 3 month aluminum was up 0.3% at...
According to Ministry of Finance, Japanese alloyed aluminum import increased by 5% to 1.071 million tonnes in 2011 from 2010. The import increased by 18% to 446,134 tonnes from China and the import hit the record under historical high yen rate. Japanese minor alloyed aluminum makers' order receipt apparently decreases under higher import. Japanese trading firm source sees around 80% of imported alloyed aluminum is material for die casting. Japanese automotive parts makers are main user of the material and the makers would increase the material use more. Japanese molten aluminum maker source sees the makers apparently increased Chinese alloyed aluminum in the past 2 years. The makers mainly use Russian base metal with AK5M2 grade but the base metal price increased in recent years. The...
Vedanta Resources announced aluminum production for Q3 2011. Aluminum production in Q3 was 170,000 tonnes which includes production of 107,000 tonnes at VAL Jharsuguda and 63,000 tonnes at BALCO. The Lanjigarh refinery has ramped up well and the alumina production at Lanjigarh was a record 236,000 tonnes and 687,000 tonnes during Q3 and the 9 month period respectively. Cost performance at VAL Jharsuguda improved over Q2 which previously had higher costs due to the pot outage in Q1 and a heavy monsoon in the coal mining areas during Q2. COP of hot metal produced at VAL Jharsuguda was INR 103,130 per tonne as compared with INR 117,045 per tonne in the preceding quarter. COP of hot metal produced at BALCO was stable in Rupee terms at INR 96,170 per tonne as compared with INR 97,588 per tonne...
The European physical aluminium market has continued to see more optimistic sentiment develop on the back of tighter supply for some grades and increased spot business. "It's moving up," one European trader said. "Everyone is offering higher. It's the closure of plants and the lack of good-quality material in the market. Even producers are looking for material." A consumer agreed, saying premiums were higher this week but that he was seeing hesitation from some buyers. "I think the higher premiums see buyers more cautious, there is no rush to buy," he said. A producer source noted that the production cuts were now having an impact on premiums but that some end-users were still carrying stocks from the end of last year. "I'm looking towards the end of March," he said. "We shall see how it...
New Zealand commodity prices rose for the first time in eight months in January, led by aluminium and dairy products. But the high kiwi dollar wiped out the benefits in local currency terms. The ANZ Commodity Price Index rose 1.2 per cent in January, having fallen 9.8 per cent in the previous seven months. The ANZ NZD Commodity Price Index fell 2.9 per cent to a 14-month low, reflecting the strengthening kiwi dollar. Nine of the 17 commodity types rose in the latest month, three fell and five were unchanged. Aluminium gained 6 per cent last month, ending an eight-month slide. Cheese rose 5 per cent, and skim milk powder and butter gained 3 per cent. Aggregate dairy prices are up 2 per cent. Lamb prices rose 2 per cent after three months of declines. Beef, logs, skins and whole milk powder...
LME three-month aluminum contract initially dropped below USD 2,200/mt and net positions of the contract lost 28,000 lots due to profit taking by longs ahead of release of the latest US non-farm payroll data. The metal narrowed losses at the tail of trading with bargain hunting and closed down USD 61/mt or 2.69% at USD 2,210/mt. Cautiousness will prevail during Asian trading hours due to a lack of confidence in better non-far payroll data from the US. As such, SMM expects three-month aluminum to test support at USD 2,200/mt and move between USD 2,190-2,250/mt during today’s trading. The most active SHFE three-month aluminum contract is expected to test support at the 20-day moving average and hover between RMB 16,140-16,260/mt. The SHFE current-month aluminum price is likely to drop below...
Mr N.R. Mohanty today joined as Nalco Director (Projects & Technical). Mr Mohanty, who was General Manager (Smelter) in National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) at Angul, took charge as Director on superannuation of Mr P.K. Padhi, company sources said. Mr Mohanty has rich and varied experiences of more than 30 years in aluminium industry. He has been conferred with several awards and recognitions throughout his professional career.
Alcoa AA +0.39% announced today that the Alcoa Board of Directors has elected Paula Davis a vice president of the company. Davis has been President of the Alcoa Foundation since 2010. Founded more than 50 years ago, Alcoa Foundation is one of the largest corporate foundations in the United States, having invested more than $530 million since 1952. "Under Paula's leadership, the Alcoa Foundation has significantly increased employee volunteerism at all levels and strengthened Alcoa communities worldwide by creating innovative partnerships that promote sustainable environments and advance Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and workforce development in manufacturing," said Nicholas Ashooh, Alcoa Vice President Corporate Affairs. Before joining Alcoa, Davis was Vice...
Emirates Aluminum is participating at the Tawdheef career fair in Abu Dhabi for the fourth time in line with its commitment to recruit more Emiratis in 2012. Mr Saeed Fadhel Al Mazrooei president and CEO of EMAL said that “Emirati talent is a central feature of how we have come so far, so quickly and a highly qualified and skilled Emirati workforce is essential for our future success.” Last year the company announced the start of Phase II of the Al Taweelah smelter. The additional USD 4.5 billion investment will see the workforce rise from 2,000 to 3,000 employees upon completion in 2014. It currently has 391 Emirati employees of which 96 are engineers including 15 female engineers. EMAL already has an active Emiratisation program with multiple initiatives for Emiratis currently at the...
The smelter at Tiwai Point produced a record amount of aluminium last year. The smelter produced 354,030 saleable tonnes. The previous highest year was 352,976 tonnes in 2007. The smelter is New Zealand's largest single user of electricity and creates export sales in excess of $1 billion. The record production is despite generally low aluminium prices. Other smelters worldwide are cutting their production. The plant is up for sale by its global owner, Rio Tinto. NZ Smelter general manager Ryan Cavanagh says the achievement is a significant milestone which the plant's employees can be very proud of. He says the smelter is setting a benchmark for other industries in New Zealand. Hard to repeat aluminium production level The Tiwai Point aluminium smelter says it will struggle to better last...
