Impact Minerals plans staged 4,000-tpa HPA production in US
A NewPro study supports a staged 2,000-to-4,000-tonne-per-year high-purity alumina plant on the US Gulf Coast, with a post-tax NPV of about USD373 million and a 42.3 per cent IRR. Impact Minerals is advancing plans for a modular high-purity alumina (HPA) plant in the US after an independent scoping...
Ireland withholds Aughinish Alumina meeting notes amid Russia export review
Ireland’s Department of Enterprise has withheld the release records of discussions between its secretary general and Aughinish Alumina management, citing “highly confidential information” shared by the company. The decision comes as scrutiny intensifies over the Limerick refinery’s alumina exports...
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Vedanta Aluminium aims to triple capacity despite alumina shortage
Vedanta Aluminium Ltd will triple its capacity by 2015 to 2.3 million tonnes to cater for an expected surge in demand in India, its managing director said, even though its inability to source enough alumina at home has forced it to import the raw material. The company, a unit of London-listed...
Vedanta moves Project Monitoring Group for Lanjigarh refinery expansion
Mining conglomerate Vedanta Group has approached Prime Minister's Project Monitoring Group, which was established to fast track stalled large investment projects, seeking environment clearance for expansion of its Lanjigarh alumina refinery in Odisha to 6 million tonnes. The Project Monitoring...
Vedanta seeks partial de-notification of Jharsuguda SEZ
Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) that is struggling to commission its 1.2 million tonne aluminium smelter at its Jharsuguda Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for want of alumina, has sought partial de-notification of the zone’s non-processing area. Responding to VAL’s request, the Odisha government has...
Nalco Australia introduces new foam control technology for alumina processing
Nalco Australia has released its new FoamGuard antifoam technology, which it says provides improvements in operating and cost efficiencies, as well as benefits for plant and operator safety. Available for either hot-end or cold-end applications, and developed to prevent the formation and...
Ma’aden and Al Sahara affiliate “SAMAPCO” exports its first shipment of products
Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) and Sahara Petrochemical Company (Sahara) announced that their affiliate SAMAPCO has completed exportation of its first sea shipment of ethylene dichloride and caustic soda. The shipment consisted of 10,000 metric tons of ethylene dichloride and 5,000 metric...
Middle East will produce 5m tonnes of aluminium in 2015
The Middle East will produce 5 million tonnes of primary aluminium by 2015, compared with 3.7 million tonnes in 2012, according to the Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC). The region will produce 1.8 million tonnes of value-added aluminium products, compared with 1.2 million tonnes in 2012, Mahmood...
Vedanta continues its technological innovations despite loss at Lanjigarh
Vedanta Aluminium's (VAL) Rs 5,000-crore alumina refinery at Lanjigarh faces trouble over the denial of bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills but that hasn't stopped its technological innovations. The company plans to implement zero-based costing - a method to identify and implement every cost-saving...
Utkal Alumina unable to transport alumina due to pending rail link permission
The Hindalco group company, Utkal Alumina International Limited (UAIL), which started alumina production from its plant in south Odisha about four months ago, is unable to transport the material to its end use plants pending permission from the railway authorities to operate the rail link. “About...
Aziana Limited extends bauxite mineralisation in Madagascar
Aziana Limited has extended the area of known bauxite mineralisation in the Esama region of its Manantenina project in Madagascar. The first of the company’s exploration test pits on the Soanomeiny returned an 8 metre thickness of gibbsite grading 45% AvAl2O3 and 1.2% RxSiO2. The contiguous area of...
NALCO may invest $811 million to boost its alumina refining capacity
National Aluminium Co. (NALCO), India’s biggest state-owned producer, may invest INR 50 billion ($811 million) to boost its alumina refining capacity and revive earnings that are forecast to slide to a three-year low. The company will enhance its annual ability to process alumina by 43 percent to...
Fresh calls to investigate bauxite produced by Rusal Aughinish
There have been fresh calls this week for an investigation to take place on the disposal of red bauxite on the banks of the Shannon, which comes from the Rusal Aughinish site. The Russian-owned company, which produces alumina, is two years into a project which sees the disposal of 1.2m tonnes of...
Jamaica government fails to find a buyer for Clarendon Alumina
The Failure of the Government to find a buyer for Clarendon Alumina Partners (CAP) has led to Jamaica telling the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will not be divested by year end as was originally agreed. "We have had to adjust our strategy for the divestment of Clarendon Alumina Partners...
RUSAL Aughinish refinery records losses
The largest alumina refinery in Europe, RUSAL Aughinish, which is located on the Shannon Estuary, plunged into the red last year as it racked up pre-tax losses of $10.4m (€7.68m). The business recorded the loss as revenues at the refinery dipped by $24m, or 2.5pc, from $610.57m to $586m in the 12...
Nhulunbuy locals are worried about the latest gas deal
The local MP for the mining town of Nhulunbuy says locals are still worried about the region's future, despite a meeting yesterday where more gas was promised for a mining company to continue operating. Labor MP Lynne Walker who represents Nhulunbuy said a town meeting on Monday with Federal...
Votorantim Metais’ Alumina Rondon project will start operations by 2017
Votorantim Metais’ (VM) Alumina Rondon project, an alumina refinery located close to a bauxite mine in the north of Brazil, is expected to start operations in 2017, Carlos Gatti, the project’s operation manager told Metal Bulletin. VM is currently concluding feasibility studies and construction...
Nalco to invest INR 33,000 cr for diversification and expansion
Unveiling a new plan for high growth through diversification and expansion, aluminium giant Nalco is set to invest more than INR 33,000 crore in a host of sectors including energy to boost its productivity and profitability. "NALCO is embarking upon an ambitious growth plan involving a massive...
Vedanta looks beyond Niyamgiri for bauxite supplies
After 12 village councils completely rejected bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hills, Vedanta is now looking beyond the area to source raw material for its Rs. 5,000 crore Lanjigarh alumina refinery in Odisha and is hopeful of securing an alternate mine soon. "Niyamgiri was a very small deposit and...
Macfarlane to meet with locals over Gove refinery
Federal industry minister Ian Macfarlane and NT chief minister Adam Giles will meet with Arnhem Land locals and businesses today over the fate of the Gove alumina refinery. The loss-making Pacific Aluminium plant, owned by Rio Tinto, could have its operations suspended, among four other options its...
