From black shale to smelter feed: CEM advances North American alumina supply chain
Canadian Energy Metals has demonstrated a process for producing smelter-grade alumina from Saskatchewan black shale and has started a prefeasibility study for its Thor Project. Canadian Energy Metals Corp. (CEM) has taken a step towards developing an alternative North American source of alumina...
LME aluminium price chart rises further to $3,325/t; stocks remain stable
The London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price chart continues to record an upward trend across the pricing and contract segments on the September 8 trading session, reporting gains over the September 7 close . Opening stocks remained stable, not reporting any further decline. The LME aluminium...
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Alumina price rally on the upward curve, SMM Says
Alumina prices in China are building up upward momentum after a slump in December, SMM sees. The price rally will be driven by alumina production cuts, stocking before the 2016 Chinese New Year holiday due in early February, SMM aluminium analyst explained. China’s alumina output fell 1.17%...
Tiwai Point smelter nearing break-even amid global aluminium glut
The future of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter looks healthier. Amid falling alumina prices, global aluminium glut, and a weakening New Zealand dollar, this phenomenon indeed stands out as a milestone for the smelter owner, observe researchers in a recently published assessment note on the prospects...
Rio Tinto posts production growth despite alumina price slump
Global mining behemoth Rio Tinto reported growth in production in its alumina operations in FY 2015. Alumina production from the company's QAL and Yarwun plants in 2015 totalled 6.61 million tonnes (mt), an increase of 355,000 tonnes from the 2014 total of 6.256 mt. The QAL plant produced 3.747 mt,...
Sherwin Alumina receives preliminary loan access
Sherwin Alumina Co., the bankrupt unit of commodities giant Glencore PLC, made its bankruptcy-court debut in Corpus Christi, Texas, Wednesday and got preliminary access to $40 million in financing from another Glencore affiliate. Judge David R. Jones approved access to $500,000 of the loan and set...
Alumina shares peak on global production cuts
Alumina shares rose the most in almost seven years after Citigroup upgraded the stock, citing expectations that global production cuts can drive a recovery in prices. The Melbourne-based producer, partner of Alcoa in the world's largest alumina producer, rose as much as 13 per cent in Sydney, the...
AWAC returns to help Alumina pay final dividend
Melbourne’s Alumina is expected to continue to pay dividends despite the crash in prices for its namesake intermediate aluminium product. The impact of the crash in alumina prices hit home yesterday with the release of Alcoa’s fourth (December) quarter results in the US, with Alcoa the manager of...
Alcoa reports ATOI $98 mln in Q4 2015 despite 24% alumina price decline
Lightweight metal major Alcoa reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2015 results yesterday. Despite lower alumina and aluminium prices, the Upstream verticals remained profitable. In the face of a 24 percent alumina price decline, after tax operating income (ATOI) was $98 million in the fourth...
Glencore’s U.S. unit Sherwin Alumina files for bankruptcy
Sherwin Alumina Co., the troubled U.S. unit of commodities company Glencore Plc, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday as a protracted slump in the price of aluminum and a labor lockout strained the alumina plant operator’s finances. Sherwin entered bankruptcy with a plan to sell its assets to...
AWAC-Alcoa JV partner Alumina's margins hit by price rout
Australian company Alumina, the junior partner in the AWAC joint venture with Alcoa, said lower alumina and aluminium prices and unfavourable currency movements had negatively impacted margins during the final quarter of last year. The comments came as Alcoa, the first major US company to report...
China aluminium costs to continue falling after deep declines in December
There is still room to fall for costs at Chinese aluminium smelters in January, SMM says. The downside room will be limited, though, SMM understands. Prices for alumina and prebaked anode will unlikely see sharp declines due to cost support. Power tariff subsidies by local governments will not be...
China alumina imports down 33.6% MoM in November
China imported 386,000 mt of alumina in November, down 33.6% MoM, customs data showed. Three factors led to the decline. First, imported alumina enjoyed no price advantage over domestic alumina. FOB price of Australian alumina was USD 203/mt in late December, which is equivalent to over RMB...
China alumina output to continue falling in December
China’s alumina output will continue falling in December as tumbling prices and massive aluminum production cuts will force more producers to scale back production, SMM expects. Alumina prices are now near or even below cash costs at Chinese alumina producers, dampening production activity, SMM...
Asia Alumina: Drifts sideways at $200/Mt FOB Australia
The price of Australian alumina continued to drift sideways Thursday, leaving Platts daily assessment unchanged at $200/mt FOB, despite a slight slippage of Yuan 15/mt ($2.30) in Chinese domestic prices in Shanxi province. The Australian assessment has fallen $5.50/mt in the last week, and $40/mt...
SMM Survey: 32% of Chinese smelters bullish toward aluminium prices this week
Almost 32% of the 38 Chinese aluminium smelters surveyed by SMM are bullish toward this week’s aluminium prices. Another 52% expect prices to stabilize, while the rest 16% paint a gloomy picture. The optimists expect LME aluminium to return above USD 1,525/mt and SHFE 1602 aluminium to rise above...
China alumina imports up 113.83% YoY in October
China imported 581,500 mt of alumina in October, up 113.83% YoY, customs data showed. A sharp fall in import prices lured Chinese aluminum producers and traders to ramp up imports. FOB price of West Australian alumina fell 11% MoM to USD 243/mt at the end of October. Imported alumina is suitable...
Alumina price slump eases losses at Chinese aluminium smelters
Chinese aluminium smelters suffered fewer losses thanks to a slump in alumina prices, SMM found. The average loss at Chinese aluminium smelters surveyed by SMM shrank to less than 1,000 yuan ($156) per tonne in the week ending November 30. This is mainly contributed by an almost 100 yuan per tonne...
China alumina output to fall in November after a rise in October
China’s alumina output to fall back from October’s highs in November as falling alumina prices have driven more producers to losses, expects Shanghai Metal Market. Losses aside, poor demand from aluminum smelters, year-end cash tightness and high inventories will also discourage alumina producers...
SMM sees no alumina price rally in China, despite massive output cuts
Alumina prices in China are nowhere near bottom, despite massive capacity cuts, SMM predicts. Continuous declines in aluminum prices will weaken support on alumina prices from production cuts, SMM aluminum analyst explained. Alumina prices have lost almost 33.7% since the start of the year, pushing...
