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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Hertwich Engineering will be supplying Ecomelt PS-250 melting furnace to AMAG
Hertwich Engineering will be supplying Braunau’s AMAG Ecomelt PS-250 melting furnace as well as a casting furnace. The company will be installing the furnaces at AMAG, Ranshofen works. Ecomelt PS-250 is considered the largest aluminium melting furnace that has preheating shaft. The design...
Mukah smelter up and running again
Press Metal Bhd’s aluminium smelting plant in Mukah, which was badly damaged by a statewide power outage last June, is now up and running again. Group chief executive officer Datuk Koon Poh Keong said the rebuilt facility, which went fully operational last month, was expected to contribute...
“As an industry we really need to communicate the environmental benefits of aluminium to our policymakers…” Simon MacVicker, President, Aluminium Federation (ALFED)
Standing at the helm of one of Shropshire’s leading manufacturing businesses, Simon MacVicker is a man who enjoys a challenge. He has been serving as the managing director of Bridgnorth Aluminium limited for more than 10 years running this thriving business successfully. Starting in January 2014,...
Vedanta hopeful of using IPP power for smelter
Anil Agarwal controlled Vedanta Resources Ltd said it is hopeful of getting the Odisha government’s nod to use power from group owned Sesa Sterlite’s 2400 Mw coal based plant to run its aluminium smelter complex at Jharsuguda. “We have 3,600 Mw power generating capacity at Jharsuguda (including...
Rusal warns of investment risk
RUSSIAN aluminium giant Rusal has slammed the investment climate for value-adding minerals processing, saying the key advantages Australia once enjoyed around energy and sovereign risk were being destroyed. “The industry in Australia is faced with development hurdles that pose significant...
UC RUSAL and Rosneft sign partnership agreement
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, and Rosneft, Russia’s leading petroleum company, announce the signing of a long-term agreement for the supply of petroleum coke and natural gas to RUSAL’s plants. The document was signed by the CEO of RUSAL, Oleg Deripaska and the President of Rosneft,...
Alro Slatina continues its strategy to reduce the production costs
Alro SA, one of the largest aluminium producers in Central and Eastern Europe, continues the strategy of increasing the energy efficiency, by testing new technologies in the electrolysis sector. These could decrease the energy consumption with 100 kWh/tonne of electrolytic aluminium. “Alro focused,...
Energy saving benefits for aluminium smelters
A sustainable cost effective energy supply, the increasing costs of maintenance and the high cost of steel shots used in shot blasting machines are just a few of the concerns aluminium smelters are facing nowadays. With technical assistance from Rockwell Automation, a new Stub Cleaning Technology...
Smelter requesting for concessions on RET
The coalition over Renewable Energy Target (RET) faces new pressure as one of the aluminium smelters warns of sacking their workers without making any major changes to employee scheme. A key regulator has even warned that it is hitting the consumers with unnecessary costs. During the RET review...
Alro reported an adjusted net loss of RON 51 million in Q1 2014
Financial and operational highlights • Turnover of RON 496 million, compared to RON 507 million in Q1 2013 • Net loss of RON 144 million, compared to a net profit of RON 11 million in Q1 2013 • Primary aluminium production of 62,500 tonnes, from 62,400 tonnes in Q1 2013 • Processed aluminium...
Eco-friendly technology poses great energy saving benefits for aluminium smelters
A sustainable cost effective energy supply, the increasing costs of maintenance and the high cost of steel shots used in shot blasting machines are just a few of the concerns aluminium smelters are facing nowadays. With technical assistance from Rockwell Automation, a new Stub Cleaning Technology...
Recycling ‘main energy efficiency driver’ in metal manufacturing
The use of recycling in the manufacturing processes of materials such as iron, steel and aluminium has been “a main driver” of improvements in energy efficiency within the industry. That’s according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which suggests production of these metals...
UK Aluminium industry sees growing confidence
Aluminium industry leaders say their campaign against damaging red tape is starting to bear fruit, with the UK now being seen as a more friendly environment towards heavy industry and manufacturing. However, more needs to be done. During the past decade, a raft of energy legislation aimed at...
Aluminium makers bang drum for “friendly” energy policy
Aluminium makers are feeling perky after a good year for energy policy, according to the trade body ALFED. On Friday the group blamed carbon cutting laws for making the UK “globally uncompetitive” over the last decade and leading to the UK’s primary aluminium producing capacity dropping 87%. ALFED...
Romanian aluminum producer Alro slashes sales target for this year by 6% on lower prices
Romanian company Alro Slatina, the largest aluminum producer in Central and Eastern Europe (excluding CIS), adjusted its sales budget for this year by 6 percent, to USD 605 million, according to data posted on its website. The company previously estimated sales of USD 642 million. The main reason...
Alba Power welcomes team from Bahrain EWA
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s commitment to safety was highlighted during a recent visit by Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA)’s Standard Operating Procedures Committee (SOPC) to Alba’s Power Department. The SOPC visited Alba to gain more insight on the safety and security...
ALUMINIUM industry sees growing confidence, sector-friendly policies
Aluminium industry leaders say their campaign against damaging red tape is starting to bear fruit, with the UK now being seen as a more friendly environment towards heavy industry and manufacturing. However, more needs to be done. During the past decade, a raft of energy legislation aimed at...
Vimetco narrows FY pretax loss
Vimetco narrowed its FY pretax loss to $0.16m, from a loss of $0.19m. Revenue was $2.2m, from $2.3m. The total production of electrolytic aluminium decreased to 869,000 tonnes, from 925,000 tonnes in 2012, and the production of processed products increased at 189,000 tonnes, up from 171,000 tonnes...
