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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Qatalum to participate in Aluminium Symposium
As the energy sector begins to face new challenges, the importance of aluminium is growing. In order to fully harness its potential, it is important that the industry not only take daring new approaches but also bolster winning formulas already in place. Annually, Qatalum, Hydro and Qatar...
Aluminum Association Featured in UN Sustainability Report
As the United Nations adopted an ambitious slate of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030, the Aluminum Association played its own small role in this historic effort. Concurrent with the adoption of the SDG was the release of a report showcasing the contributions of business trade...
South Carolina smelter shutdown seems imminent as stalemate goes on
The Mount Holly aluminum smelter in Goose Creek may shut down at the end of this year after owner Century Aluminum and electric utility Santee Cooper failed to reach an agreement on a new power contract for the plant. Michael Bless, Century’s president and CEO, said the closure “would be a tragedy”...
Rexam celebrates inauguration of innovative Widnau plant in Switzerland
Rexam, a leading global can maker, proudly announces the completed construction and inauguration of its new wall-to-wall manufacturing plant in Widnau, Switzerland. The hi-tech plant will produce a range of Slim and Sleek™ cans to meet global growth in energy drinks and marks the culmination of...
China, Russia work hands to hold up aluminum price
In the new Sino-Russian energy cooperation agreement, the two sides reached a consensus of reducing the output of aluminum products. Due to the excessive supply, the aluminum price has ever dropped the lowest since 2009. Aluminum Corporation Of China Limited and the world's top aluminum producer...
China signals curbs on aluminium output in accord with Russia
China signaled it’s prepared to curb aluminium production to try to stem oversupply as part of an agreement with Russia. The Sino-Russian protocol on energy cooperation, signed November 16 by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, includes a section on...
‘Wings’ sculpture soars with aluminium from Hydro
World-famous architect Daniel Libeskind has created an extraordinary large-scale sculpture: Wings. The four-part artwork is made primarily of aluminium provided by Hydro. Libeskind’s artwork is the size of a tree and opens towards the top like the petals of a bloom. Its two pairs of wings anchor at...
Indian aluminium set to lose global cost advantage
Aluminium producers in India, raising prices to compensate for the expensive coal they have to buy from the open market after losing captive coal blocks in a Supreme Court order last year, may be turning uncompetitive in the global market, said analysts. The situation is expected to worsen once...
America Recycles Day shows economic and environmental benefits of the recycling industry
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, says it celebrated America Recycles Day Sunday, November 15, by applauding all individuals who make an effort to recycle daily. America Recycles Day, a national initiative of Keep America Beautiful, Stamford, Connecticut, takes place...
Brazil breaks aluminium recycling record
Brazil, the world's biggest collector of aluminium cans, broke its own record for recycling the material in 2014, the Brazilian Aluminium Association, or Abal, said. The numbers can be attributed to the rising costs of energy and the fragility of an economy plagued by recession and accelerating...
Power tariff cuts and falling coal prices to keep Chinese aluminium smelters productive
Aluminium prices in China, presently the biggest exporter of the metal across global markets, are nowhere near bottom even when they are now just one step to 10,000 yuan per tonne. Despite spurious production cuts here and there, the country’s aluminium output has been hitting new highs. China...
Recycling plants struggle to remain efficient and feasible
Americans generate about 254 million tons of trash and recycle and compost about 87 million tons of this material, which adds up to a 34.3 percent national recycling rate. Recycling and composting prevented the release of approximately 186 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2013, according to...
Aluminium Federation to seek governmental support for UK’s aluminium sector
The Aluminium Federation, UK, has called for an urgent meeting with Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sajid Javid. The Federation stresses that the UK’s aluminium sector needs similar support to that being proposed for the country’s steel industry. “The UK aluminium sector has...
Alcoa to curtail refining and smelting capacity to drive upstream competitiveness
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa announced that it is taking decisive action to curtail uncompetitive smelting and refining capacity to ensure continued competitiveness amid prevailing market conditions. The company will reduce aluminum smelting capacity by 503,000 metric tons and alumina refining...
Researchers develop new energy-efficient technique to weld steel and aluminium
As manufacturers, particularly in the automobile industry, continue to work toward incorporating lighter metals like aluminium with heavier steel, the ongoing problem has been how to successfully weld them together. The problem is that the high heat created in the welding process actually weakens...
Electricity market reform: A chance to unlock investment in European aluminium production
Electricity is the lifeblood of aluminium production. Long - term certainty of supply and a competitive electricity price are crucial to unleash the growth potential of the industry in Europe. European Aluminium welcomes the planned reform of the EU Electricity Market Design as an opportunity to...
China power price cut may end up hurting aluminium prices
A helping hand from the Chinese goverment to the slowing economy in the form of cheaper power tariffs may result in further plummeting of aluminum prices, worsening a glut that is already threatening aluminium producers worldwide. On-grid power tariffs in China may be reduced as soon as next month...
Century Aluminum smelter closure seems unpreventable, says South Carolina governor
Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina, said Wednesday, October 28, that the state has done all it can to keep Century Aluminum from closing its Berkeley County smelter and laying off 600 workers as a contractual impasse between the company and its power provider enters its final weeks. “The main...
