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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Jobs at Century and Alcan at risk without cheaper electricity
In the final days of the 2013 legislative session, lawmakers are wrestling with the possibility that well over 1,000 good jobs in Western Kentucky will be lost as electric bills soar for about 112,000 homes and businesses in the region. Two aluminum smelters that employ 1,200 have said they will...
Norsk Hydro May Sell Unused Electricity as Aluminum Prices Slump
Norsk Hydro ASA, Europe’s third- biggest aluminum supplier, may resell power it bought from Vattenfall AB as it cuts production amid falling prices for the metal. Norsk Hydro may sell on a portion of the 18 terawatt-hours of electricity it committed to buy in 2008, Halvor Molland, a spokesman for...
Romanian aluminium maker Alro posts loss
Romania’s aluminium producer Alro Slatina, controlled by Russian – owned Vimetco, ended 2012 on a loss, EUR 38.4 million, after an EUR 49 million profit in 2011. The reported data is preliminary and unaudited. This is the first time Alro posts a loss after its 2002 privatization. “External,...
Budget 2013 imposes New duty structure on coal imports
The finance ministers' move to equalize customs and countervailing duty of steam coal and bituminous coal will help coastal power plants import coal cheaper and will affect most other companies who import low value coal. It will raise average cost of power generation. "Companies like Adnai, JSW and...
Talks resume between Century Aluminum and Appalachian Power
Century Aluminum and Appalachian Power Company have restarted talks in connection with a power rate for Century that could lead to the reopening of the company's plant in Ravenswood. Appalachian Power Communications Director Jeri Matheney tells MetroNews regular discussions began a few weeks ago....
Talks on Tiwai Point aluminium smelter making slow progress
State-owned Meridian Energy says it is making some "slow progress" in its talks with New Zealand's biggest single electricity user, the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, but the outcome is still unclear. "We are currently still in negotiations with Tiwai, with Rio Tinto, and they are being conducted...
Alcoa funds $20 million substation overhaul
US aluminium giant Alcoa has invested $20 million overhauling two electricity sub-stations powering its Wenatchee smelter in Washington State, USA. The overhaul was designed to minimise the risk of a power outage at the plant. The modernised McKenzie and Valhalla substations are owned respectively...
Automakers switching to aluminium alloy wheel hubs
More and more automobile owners prefer aluminium alloy wheel hub for its appearance, comfort and safety. At present almost all the new types use aluminium alloy wheel hubs. And there are more owners who changed their old type wheel hubs to aluminium hubs. The basic material of aluminium hubs is...
Kentucky governor urges Century Aluminum and Big Rivers Corp.to compromise
A dispute between a regional utility and two aluminum smelters in western Kentucky over electric rates is getting an increasing amount of attention from Kentucky state officials. Gov. Steve Beshear sent a letter on Wednesday urging the presidents of Big Rivers Electric Corp. and its largest...
Century Aluminum plant aid in Kentucky stalls
A Kentucky legislative panel last week postponed a vote on a bill that would allow two western Kentucky aluminum smelters to purchase electricity on the open market. That's because negotiations over rates are continuing between Century Aluminum and the local utility company, Big Rivers Electric...
Aluminium Bahrain reports decline in profit due to lower price
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), which owns the world's fourth-largest aluminium smelter, posted a 54.4 per cent slump in last year profits yesterday, citing lower prices for the decline. Alba reported net profit of US$256 million (Dh940.3m) for 2012, down from $562.1m in 2011, according to a bourse...
Alba Reports 2012 Results
Alba's sales for the full-year of 2012 were US$ 1,978 million, a decline of 16% on the back of low LME prices versus US$ 2,349 million in 2011. The company has registered a Net Income for 2012 of US$ 257 million vs. US$ 564 million in 2011 which is a drop of 54% YoY driven by lower LME prices and...
Nhulunbuy celebrates as Gove refinery stays open
The outback town of Nhulunbuy is celebrating after global miner Rio Tinto Ltd promised to keep open its loss-making alumina refinery. Rio subsidiary Pacific Aluminium says it will keep open the giant Gove refinery, following a deal with the Northern Territory government to convert the diesel-fed...
Alcoa and Victorian govt pass carbon tax liability to federal govt
Aluminium giant Alcoa and the Victorian state government have designed a complicated set of deals intended to place the liability for rising power costs onto the federal government, according to The Australian Financial Review. The plan addresses a long-standing issue whereby decades-old agreements...
Kentucky to allow Century and Rio to buy power off the wholesale market to save smelters
In a bid to save Kentucky's two large aluminum smelters from closing, newly filed bipartisan legislation in the Kentucky General Assembly would allow Century Aluminum and Rio Tinto Alcan to buy power off the wholesale market if they cannot resolve a dispute over electricity rates with current...
EMAL uses World Future Energy Summit to lead way on global sustainability
One of the key outcomes from the sixth World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi last month was the contribution of leading UAE companies towards sustainable development. One local company investing significant efforts in sustainability is Emirates Aluminium (EMAL). EMAL has been committed to...
Australia Commits Gas Supply for Rio's Gove Alumina Refinery
Australia’s Northern Territory government committed to supply gas to Rio Tinto Group’s Gove alumina refinery after the world’s second-biggest mining company said it may shut the plant due to high fuel oil costs. “The Northern Territory government has now guaranteed a gas supply for the Gove...
Alcoa receives 2013 Accessory of the Year Award in China
Aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. (AA) has announced that it has received the 2013 Accessory of the Year Award in China. The company was honored in the Best Safety & Energy Savings category. Alcoa received the award based on its contribution to China’s bus manufacturing industry. The awards were sponsored...
