Coal-heavy Australian aluminium vs renewables-led New Zealand: How Oceania is balancing decarbonisation
Oceania’s primary aluminium industry is facing a fragmented energy transition. While Australia, the leading aluminium producer of the continent, has abundant renewable resources and a well-established aluminium value chain, its smelters remain significantly more dependent on fossil-fuel-based...
Can the US afford to cut Canada off? 75% aluminium and $100b energy tell the story
The US aluminium industry’s dependence on Canada extends far beyond primary aluminium imports. While Canada supplies around 75 per cent of US imported primary aluminium, covering roughly 60 per cent of the country’s annual aluminium usage, it is also a major supplier of crude oil, natural gas and...
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Vedanta Resources publishes production Release for the Second Quarter and Half Year ending 30 September 2014
Vedanta Resources publishes production Release for the Second Quarter and Half Year ending 30 September 2014. The company posts the following update on the Aluminium segment. The Lanjigarh alumina refinery operated above 90% of its rated capacity and produced 226,000 tonnes in Q2. The numbers for...
Altaiseer orders two extrusion presses from SMS Meer
Altaiseer from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has placed an order with SMS Meer for two 25/27-MN extrusion presses for the Riyadh site. Altaiseer uses the presses to manufacture high-quality aluminum profiles for facades. Through the use of energy-efficient drives and ancillary equipment, the extrusion...
Portland aluminium smelter encouraged by ALP's RET exclusion pledge
The operator of the Portland aluminium smelter has applauded the Federal Opposition's move to exclude the sector from Renewable Energy Target (RET) negotiations. The Federal Government and Labor are in negotiations over the future of the 20 per cent by 2020 renewable target. Aluminium smelters are...
Hopes rise for RET deal as aluminium reprieve flagged
Government figures are increasingly confident of reaching a deal with Labor on the future of the renewable energy target after the Clean Energy Council backed exempting aluminium from the scheme. Cabinet is expected to discuss the RET today and give Environment Minister Greg Hunt and Industry...
SC order to derail Vedanta's plans to raise power capacity
Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta group’s plans to become a formidable player in the power sector will suffer a major setback due to unavailability of coal after the Supreme Court judgement last week. The Supreme Court had cancelled coal blocks allocated to two group companies — Balco and Sterlite Energy...
Rusal to develop ethane power plant to supply to its Jamaica alumina refinery
Jamaica's energy ministry has accepted a plan by Russian aluminum producer Rusal to develop a 140MW ethane-fired power plant to supply its mothballed bauxite refinery in Jamaica. The project will be commissioned by the end of 2017, according to the head of the ministry's power development unit...
Nalco announces INR 387 crore dividend and further expansions
On September 27, the CMD of Nalco, Ansuman Das announced a dividend of INR 387 crore for the 2013-14 fiscal. The announcement was made in a press meet after the 33rd Annual General Body meet. Das explained that the aluminium market was picking up globally due to global cutbacks and the positive...
Aluminium Extrusion Industries enjoys increased sales by 11.88 percent
Aluminium Extrusion Industries plc has increased sales by 11.88 percent by their focus strategy and marketing penetration despite country’s ongoing battle with cheap imports. In the first half of 2014, this Nigerian roofing company has upped its revenue by 11.8 percent, jumping from N894.91 to N1...
U.S. Industry Recycling rate remains above 65 percent for third consecutive year
Aluminum beverage cans are once again the most recycled beverage packaging type in the United States with an industry recycling rate of 66.7 percent in 2013, according to new data released by the Aluminum Association, Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries...
Alba gets government approval for gas allocation for Line 6 project
A top executive at Aluminium Bahrain reported on Tuesday that the company had received the government’s approval for the gas allocation that will aid the operation of the sixth proposed production line, expected to be operational by 2018. The Chief Operating Officer, Isa al-Ansari revealed in an...
Xinjiang beats Henan to become China’s Top aluminum production province
Xinjiang replaced Henan to become China’s No. 1 aluminum production province by producing 2.28 million tonnes of aluminum January-July 2014, up 89.5% from a year ago, local media reported on September 19. Aluminum capacity is being transferred from eastern part of the country to the western part,...
XinRen Aluminum unit buys stake in Xinjiang coal mine for 88.6m yuan
ALUMINIUM producer XinRen Aluminum Holdings on Monday said its 51 per cent owned subsidiary, Xinjiang Plant, has acquired 55 per cent of Xinjiang Tianfu for 88.6 million yuan (S$18.3 million). Xinjiang Tianfu, which owns an "ultra-large, modern coal mine in the coal-rich Xinjiang Province", will...
RUSAL to produce nanostructured aluminium alloys
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, has begun work on a new production process for making nanostructured aluminium alloys with improved mechanical strength for the electric power industry. The project is being implemented by the Engineering and Technology Centre of UC RUSAL on the...
Novelis and World Wildlife Fund partner to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced the company has been accepted into World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Climate Savers program, an exclusive initiative of WWF to encourage companies to reduce their operational carbon footprint and act as agents of change within...
Bosnia’s Aluminij smelter signs a repayment deal to ease debt
Aluminij Mostar, Bosnia’s aluminium smelter revealed on Wednesday that they were slowly recovering from their slump after a debt settlement was approved by the regional government with the state-owned power board EPHZHB. The smelter, which is the only one in the Balkan country as well as a top...
Australian Workers Union demand 100% RET exemption
The Australian reports that the Australian Workers Union has called for a 100% exemption from RET from their current 90% and urged that the Renewable Energy Target be pushed back to 2022 from 2020. The paper reports that the delegates from the AWU aluminium will meet in a conference today and pass...
Nigerian aluminium industry facing multiple difficulties
Nigerian aluminium industry is suffering severely due to multiple problems including poor quality raw materials, high cost of energy; cheap sub-standard imports and the apparent lack of government interest in sustaining the aluminium industry. The aluminium industry is buckling under the weight of...
New Zealand First open to government stakes in the aluminium smelter
In a speech held at the Invercargill Workingmen’s Club on Sunday, the leader of New Zealand First, Winston Peters, said that he was open to the government holding stakes in the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. He said that the future of the smelter is not yet certain but if a direct government...
