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
The London Metal Exchange Wednesday said metal producer Charng Chyi Aluminum Co. Ltd. has applied for its brand, known as CC, to be listed under the exchange's aluminum alloy and North American special aluminium alloy contracts. The company's smelter, in Tainan City, Taiwan, has an annual plant capacity of 24,000 metric tons, the LME said.
Deputy General Manager of Chinalco Ren Xudong visited Fushun Aluminium recently. Ren listened to a report made by Fushun Aluminium’s general manager Tian Fuquan. Tian introduced the company’s production and management situation and energy saving work. Ren appreciated Fushun Aluminium’s achievements in the past three quarters. He stressed the importance of market analysis and judgment in the fourth quarter. He pointed out that the company should affirm its key work of the fourth quarter and guarantee the success accomplishment of the annual target.
The Smelter Plant of National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the Navratna PSU under Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India, has bagged the prestigious National Energy Conservation Award for the year 2011. Shri B.L. Bagra, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, NALCO, received the award from Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union Minister of Power, during a function held today at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, to mark the National Energy Conservation Day. The function was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh. NALCO’s smelter received the award for its contribution in energy conservation, primarily in reduction of DC energy and HFO consumption in Potlines and Baking Oven. It may be mentioned here that NALCO has always paid importance to energy conservation through its operations at its plants...
Production at part of an aluminium plant in Northumberland has been halted after a large power cut. The Rio Tinto Alcan plant at Lynemouth lost power in the early hours. Management launched full emergency procedures but say no-one was hurt. The firm says it is too early to tell what caused the incident but a full investigation has begun. In November the company announced it is planning to close the factory with the loss of 515 jobs.
Base metal prices were softer across the base complex on Tuesday and have continued to soften this morning, as concerns over the eurozone crisis and a lack of action by the US Fed weighed on sentiment, said Barclays Capital in a briefing. On the SHFE, Aluminium prices continue to outperform the LME where they are under pressure from short selling. This has resulted in the SHFE/LME spread widening (net VAT) to levels last seen in mid-2009. Reuters has reported this morning that there has been a pick up in import arbitrage. SHFE aluminium time spreads have also tightened with both front-end and six-month forward spreads moving into backwardation. This is in spite of softer demand which leads us to believe that supply reductions are bringing balance back to the market. There was a strong...
IIFL has come out with its report on aluminium sector. The research firm recommends investors to buy Hindalco & NALCO . Depreciating rupee to cushion impact of lower commodity prices: Aluminium prices have tumbled from its highs hit earlier in the year (29% from peak) on worries about the strength of the global economy and thus potential industrial demand, particularly as the European sovereign-debt crisis continues. With LME prices near US$2,000/ton, we see half of the industry in red (average global aluminium cost ~US$2,000/ton) and this would lead to production cuts going ahead. We revise our aluminium prices estimates for FY12 to US$2,310/ton and US$2,250/ton for FY13. The impact of lower commodity prices on profitability of domestic metal producers would be cushioned by the sharp...
Aluminum stockpiles rose to a record and orders to withdraw metal from warehouses fell to a 15-month low amid speculation traders are adding to bets the commodity will extend its biggest slump since the global recession. Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange rose 2 percent to 4.81 million metric tons today, enough to supply China, the biggest consumer for about three months. Canceled warrants fell 2.6 percent to 152,350 tons, the lowest since September 2010, bourse data show. Open interest, or contracts outstanding, rose 54 percent since mid-July, at a time when prices were falling, suggesting traders were adding to short positions, VTB Capital said in a report yesterday. Aluminum has dropped 29 percent since reaching a 32-month high in May on mounting concern that slowing...
The global aluminum market was in surplus by 603,800 metric tons in the first 10 months of the year, the World Bureau of Metal Statistics said Wednesday. This compares with a surplus of 691,000 tons in the same period a year before. Demand for primary aluminum in the first 10 months of 2011 was 35.7 million tons, 1.981 million tons more than in the same period the previous year. Production in January to October rose by 1.893 million tons following a 3.92 million ton increase over the whole of 2010. The WBMS did not provide a production figure for the year-earlier period.
New Zealand Aluminium Smelters equipment improvement engineer Stu Templer shows off the pot that held the 10 millionth tonne of aluminium, which was poured at the smelter. New Zealand Aluminium Smelters has hit a milestone, pouring its 10 millionth tonne of aluminium. The smelter, at Tiwai Point, has had a big year after celebrating its 40th anniversary last month and pouring its 10 millionth tonne on Tuesday, and it is also on target for a record year of production of more than 354,000 tonnes, despite the price of the metal dropping about 25 per cent in the past six months. General manager Ryan Cavanagh said the high level of production was because of continual improvements to the smelter's equipment. However, the price of aluminium had dropped by about 20 to 25 per cent in the past six...
The Kurri Kurri smelter may cut production as workers refuse to delay a pay rise for a year. It comes as the smelter, run by Hyrdo, is set to slash around 50 jobs, around 10% of its work force. Union reps will meet with Hydro CEO Alberto Fabrini as the company struggles against falling aluminium prices, contract problems and the carbon tax, the Newcastle Herald reports. Australian Workers Union secretary Richard Downie said a ballot had been held, rejecting the company's call for a pay rise delay until October 2012. Following the dismissal of Hydro's request, the refiner put forward another of options for the upcoming year. According to the Herald, the unions says these options include a partial or total closure of one of Kurri Kurri's three potlines, or not putting pots back into service...
SinoCast Daily Business Beat via Comtex reported that Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd intended to adjust equity structure of Shanxi Jiexiu Xinyugou Coal Corp and its holding subsidiaries. According to the announcement, the company will increase its investment from original CNY 537 million to CNY 692 million, injecting CNY 155 more capital into Xinyugou Coal. Chalco issued an announcement on October 27, 2010, saying it planned to set up Xinyugou Coal with Shanxi Aluminum Plant with the company itself providing CNY 537 million fund. During preparations for the Xinyugou Coal project, concerning parties adjusted equities in Xinyugou Coal and its holding subsidiaries according to Shanxi province requirements on coal resources integration. Stakes held by the company remained unchanged after...
Contracted manufacturing activities in the euro zone added to investor worries towards the region’s debt crisis, which on the other hand helped the US dollar index climb to 80.73 and in the meanwhile weighed on commodities as investors sold risk assets at hand. As such, LME aluminum lost USD 41/mt or 2.04% overnight when closing the trading day at USD 1,967/mt. The lowest price was hit at USD 1,955.8/mt, a new low since July 13th, 2010. SMM expects LME aluminum to test support at USD 1,950/mt and fluctuate between USD 1,950-2,000/mt during today’s trading as bearish moods prevail. The SHFE/LME aluminum price ratio is expected to hit 8 as SHFE aluminum futures show more stability than LME aluminum. The most active SHFE four-month aluminum contract is expected to gapped lower near RMB...
Base metal prices have been falling sharply in recent days as disappointment grows following the EU summit, said Barclays Research in a research note. According to Barclays, aluminum is facing selling pressure with LME open interest still reaching new records highs daily. This leaves aluminum increasingly vulnerable to a large short-covering rally. The banks noted that there was another large increase in LME inventory today of 96,000 metric tons, and again into Vlissingen, Europe. “We continue to believe that this is metal that has been around for a while but which is now being moved on-warrant due to the recent tightening in nearby spreads,” bank concluded.
Aluminum stocks have been hammered in recent months as a weak outlook for the global economy has weighed on prices. Last month Forbes reported that aluminum prices have fallen below the cost of output for many producers, "creating a scenario in which global production may suffer in the months ahead if prices do not recover." The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Aluminum industry and provides equity research on Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA - News) and Century Aluminum Co.(NYSE: AA) and Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX). Access to the full company reports can be found at: www.paragonreport.com/AA www.paragonreport.com/CENX Shares of Alcoa have been on a significant downturn in recent months. Last week Goldman Sachs downgraded the company, citing weaker aluminum prices and...
Member for Cessnock, Clayton Barr, is calling on the O'Farrell Government to provide a guaranteed supply of electricity to Hydro Aluminium smelter at Kurri. The call follows the announcement by the O'Farrell Government that it will privatise all NSW electricity generators – putting any agreement with Hydro Kurri in doubt. “The Premier's announcement that he will privatise the State's electricity generators has put the jobs of every worker at the Kurri smelter under a cloud once again. “This is a huge setback for the 800 workers at Kurri whose livelihoods depend on an agreement being reached with Macquarie Generation. “Macquarie Generation will now be sold off by the O'Farrell Government, with no guarantee that the sale will be conditional on an agreement with the Aluminium smelter. “In...
One of today's stocks on the move is Noranda Aluminum (NYSE:NOR), up 3.6% to $9.09. The S&P is currently trading 0.4% higher to 1,241 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading 0.5% higher to 12,086. In the past 52 weeks, Noranda Aluminum share prices have been bracketed by a low of $6.67 and a high of $17.82 and are now at $9.09, 36% above that low price. Over the last five market days, the 200-day moving average (MA) has gone down 0.9% while the 50-day MA has remained constant. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp is an integrated producer of aluminum products, as well as rolled aluminum coils. The Company produces aluminum products in the form of billets, rods and sows, used mainly for building construction, architectural and transportation applications. Noranda also produces foil and...
Shares of Alcoa(AA) continued to slump in December as economic uncertainty that surrounds the European debt crisis weighs on the global aluminum market. Shares of the Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer fell 2.4% to $9.14 after German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated objections to a bigger European Stability Mechanism bailout fund. Shares of the Dow component are down 37.4% in 2011 and have dropped 7.3% so far this month. "We tend to see aluminum pricing move more closely with global economic sentiment rather than the true fundamentals of aluminum," Bridget Freas, Morningstar's aluminum analyst, said. "So we see the same thing happening with Alcoa's stock; every time the market's up, aluminum prices tend to be up and Alcoa's stock will be up, and then vice versa." The cash (London Metal...
South Korea has bought a total of 4,000 tonnes of high-grade aluminium ingot via tenders, the state-run Public Procurement Service (PPS) said on its website (www.g2b.co.kr). Details of the purchases are as follows: TONNES SUPPLIER PREMIUM(CIF/T) ORIGIN 2,000 Glencore International AG $90 Western 1,000 Hydro Aluminium $103 Non-Western 1,000 LG International Corp $118 Non-Western * Note: The above premiums were made over London Metal Exchange (LME) prices on a cost, insurance and freight(CIF) basis, and western origin excludes metals from China, India, Russia and Egypt. Arrivals for the deals are by Feb. 29, 2012 at the port of Incheon.
