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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Rio’s French smelter at Dunkirk under threat without new power deal
Rio Tinto’s endeavors to keep open one of its French smelters raises questions not just about the viability of this particular plant but aluminum smelting in Europe in general. The smelter in question, according to Reuters, serves as the largest aluminum plant in the European Union with 2012...
Nalco commissions part of its second wind energy project
State-owned aluminium maker Nalco has commissioned a part of its INR 283 crore wind power project in Rajasthan, taking its total green energy capacity to 65 MW. “The company has set up its second wind power plant at Ludarva in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, with a capacity of 47.6 MW. A part of the project...
Montenegro eyes bankruptcy for stricken aluminium plant
The Montenegrin government filed a court motion on Friday to consider bankruptcy for the country’s single biggest industrial employer, indebted aluminium plant KAP, which faces having its electricity cut off over unpaid bills. Kombinat Aluminijuma Podgorica employs 1,200 people and accounted for...
Alba appoints new director for power station
Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray announced that Amin Sultan has been appointed as the company’s new Power Station Director with immediate effect. Mr. Sultan’s responsibilities will include overseeing power maintenance and projects along with power operations and utilities at Alba’s...
Norsk Hydro acquires Vigeland Metal Refinery and Vigelands Brug
Hydro has signed an agreement with Rio Tinto Alcan to acquire its 50 percent ownership share in the Vigeland Metal Refinery AS and 100 percent ownership share in the AS Vigelands Brug hydropower station, located in southern Norway. Hydro held a 50-percent ownership share in Vigeland Metal Refinery...
Eskom will divert power from Billiton whenever demand exceeds capacity
ESKOM has invoked its right to disrupt the power supply to BHP Billiton’s aluminium smelters in the case of an emergency as demand by households showed signs it will exceed the state-owned utility’s capacity to generate enough power this winter. The demand forecast for the remainder of this week...
EDF might take stake in French Rio Tinto aluminum plant
French utility EDF could take a stake of up to 40 percent in Rio Tinto's Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne aluminum plants in exchange for agreeing a discount on the electricity it supplies, financial daily Les Echos reported. Rio Tinto is negotiating with Germany's Trimet Aluminium AG over a sale of the...
Century Aluminum, other parties file agreements with Kentucky PSC
Century Aluminum of Kentucky joined Big Rivers Electric Corp. and Kenergy Corp. June 12 to announce the parties had filed definitive agreements with the Kentucky Public Service Commission based on the tentative agreement they all reached in April. The agreements from the parties are the first step...
Bosnia seeks to avert closure of top exporter Aluminij
Authorities in Bosnia sought to avert the closure of the country's top exporter, aluminium smelter Aluminij Mostar, on Thursday with a deal to settle its ownership structure and redundancy issues. Officials said the agreement could be inked on Monday, although negotiations appeared to be ongoing....
Century Aluminum completes purchase of Alcan
Officials with Century Aluminum took the first step last week towards solidifying the status of Rio Tinto’s Alcan Sebree Works Smelter by completing the acquisition of the plant and its 500 employees. The future of both plants has been in question since Century notified Henderson-based Big Rivers...
Rio Tinto invests in French aluminum plant to cut power costs
Rio Tinto has invested nearly 80 million euros in its Dunkirk aluminum plant in the past 18 months and plans to invest at least that much again over the next five years on energy saving and efficiency improvements. The largest aluminum plant in the European Union with 2012 production of 286,600...
Power Savings Pay off at P&A International Aluminium Extrusion Plant
Die casting and extrusions firm P&A International has significantly cut power costs at its China-based facility. As a leading manufacturer, P&A International’s long-term strategy for remaining competitive includes goals for using energy more efficiently. In 2013, P&A International conducted a power...
Iceland renews push for aluminium plant
The new Icelandic government was only a day old when it announced in mid-May that it would do all it could to push ahead with the Helguvik aluminium smelter. Construction for the smelter began in in 2008 but since then has met with a variety of problems, mostly energy-related. Critics of the...
China’s energy sector boosts aluminum demand during January-April
Data from National Energy Administration and National Bureau of Statistics show that investment in power grid infrastructure construction during the first four months of this year totaled RMB 86.6 billion, up 29.6% YoY. 8,449 km of transmission lines (>200 KV) were added during the same period, a...
Edmonton pioneers the use of aluminum electric cable in oil pipelines
Edmonton became the North American pioneer in the commercial use of aluminum electric cable in an oil-filled pipeline. The eight-km cable was laid from the power plant to the Woodcroft substation under construction at 118th Avenue and 142nd Street. C.Z. Monaghan, Superintendent of the City of...
Rusal considers shelving smelter capacity
Rusal is considering shutting down 81,000 MT capacity at its Nadvoitsy aluminum smelter. Rusal previously announced that it would borrow EUR 150 million from VEB to upgrade the facility to produce higher value-added products. Part of the loans was used to acquire Ondskaya Hydroelectric to ensure...
Alcoa develops new low cost technology to reduce smelter emissions
The Alcoa Technical Center (ATC) has developed technology that uses 50% less water and 30% less energy and will reduce emissions at a fraction of the cost of current technology in the field. ATC will complete commissioning and on-site testing of its In-Duct Scrubber in August 2014 and plans to...
Alcoa mulls Yadkin hydro assets sale
As Alcoa inches toward renewal of its embattled Yadkin River hydro license, the aluminum giant acknowledges the 38-mile project could be sold. Control of the Yadkin’s economic value has pitted Stanly County, site of a now-closed smelting operation, against Alcoa for more than six years. Alcoa now...
