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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Auction method for coal linkages to be introduced
Aiming to bring transparency in allotment of coal linkages and their prices, the Ministry of Coal is working on the process to auction them to unregulated sectors like steel, cement or aluminium plants. The Ministry has accepted the high level panel report on auctioning of coal linkages to...
Five aluminum smelters in Inner Mongolia not subject to tiered power tariffs
Five aluminum smelters in Inner Mongolia will not be subject to tiered power tariffs since their alternate current power consumption per tonne of aluminum liquid produced is below 13,700 Kwh, local media reported. These five smelters are: Inner Mongolia HMHJ Aluminum & Electricity Co., China Power...
Hydro signs long-term power contract for Karmøy pilot
Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro ASA's fully owned subsidiary Hydro Energi AS has signed a long-term power contract with Eidsiva Vannkraft AS, a Norwegian hydro power producer, for annual supply of 300 GWh annually over 10 years from January 1, 2021, and a total delivery of 3.0 TWh. Hydro...
China Guangxi aims to reduce power costs for local aluminum smelters
The government of Guangxi is working to cut costs for local aluminum smelters by power tariff cuts and tapping into rich hydropower in neighboring provinces, CNMN reported. The local government will establish regional power networks and try to cut power tariffs from over 0.06 yuan (0.97 cents) per...
Ameren will not extend Noranda aluminum plant's power contract
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp will have to seek a new power supplier or negotiate a new contract with Ameren Corp in five years to keep its Missouri smelter running, the latest obstacle for its only primary aluminum plant. Energy provider Ameren's Missouri division told Noranda last Thursday it...
Aluminum industry partners with Department of Energy
The Aluminum Association recently announced a new partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) to increase the number of aluminum industry jobs in the U.S. and explore new, sustainable technologies to advance U.S. manufacturing. The DOE’s Aluminum Industry Jobs Partnership will identify...
Falling Coal prices cut power costs at China aluminum smelters
Continuous coal price fall has further cut power costs at Chinese aluminum smelters using captive power, SMM has learned. The Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal (5,500 Kcal) Price Index (BSPI) fell for 19 weeks running to 414 yuan ($67) per tonne as of May 22. As much as 70% of the country’s operational aluminum...
Odisha's poor power linkage policy hit aluminium plant: Vedanta
Mining and minerals giant Vedanta today said it is operating its Jharsugda aluminium facility at a mere 25 per cent of installed capacity while putting the blame on state government for absence of power linkage policy and raw material crunch. The NRI-billionaire Anil Aggarwal-led company has set up...
Delhi HC asks govt to consider Balco’s coal mine plea
The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the government to treat Bharat Aluminium Company’s (Balco) petition as its representation to it and decide whether it was to be “chosen as the succesful bidder” for a Chhattisgarh coal block within a month. Balco, a Vedanta Group firm, had challenged the...
EPA’s new restrictions may hamper Kentucky’s aluminium industry
EPA’s proposed rules threaten to dampen the aluminum industry in Kentucky which has just started coming out of trouble. Kentucky has attracted the aluminum industry because of its abundant coal and the lowest electricity bills in the country contributing 40 percent of America’s total aluminum...
RET deal to save Tasmanian company Bell Bay Aluminium $10m in power costs
Tasmania's major industrials have won a full exemption from the Renewable Energy Target (RET) under a deal struck between the major parties over the scheme's future. The Federal Government and Labor agreed to lower the target, meaning 33,000 gigawatt hours of Australia's electricity will be from...
Alcoa to close the Anglesea power station
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa today announced that Alcoa of Australia will permanently close the Anglesea coal mine and power station on August 31, 2015. The Anglesea power station previously supplied approximately 40 percent of the power needs for the Point Henry smelter in Geelong, Victoria....
Paulwell to visit Russia in June
Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Minister Phillip Paulwell announced on Thursday that he will be visiting Russia in mid-June for talks with government officials as well as officials of UC Rusal, the aluminium giant which owns Alpart. "The Russian Government has invited myself and a team to...
Bell Bay Aluminium acquires deal from Tasmanian government securing 1,500 jobs
Bell Bay Aluminium had urged the government of Tasmania in February that increasing the electricity rates will hit the company hard and may result in large scale jobs cuts. In return, the government has struck a secretive deal with the firm that could secure the 1,500 jobs that were in risk. The...
Novelis Inducted into Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Circular Economy 100
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today announced its induction into the Circular Economy 100 (CE100), a global platform bringing together leading companies, emerging innovators, cities and regions to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The news was announced...
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation reported results for first quarter 2015.
"We are pleased to report the successful completion of two important initiatives to improve our cost structure," Layle K. Smith, Noranda's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Specifically, we established a new and reduced electricity rate structure at our aluminum smelter and we completed our...
ISRI releases new additions to video campaign promoting value of recycled commodities
At its Annual Convention and Exposition held last month in Vancouver, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) released two new videos aimed at providing the public more information on the value and impact of the recycling industry. The videos, focused on plastics and tire recycling,...
Alro Slatina quartered its energy consumption by lowering production
A drop in production has resulted in reduced energy consumption by 25% during the crucial years for the Romanian aluminium producer Alro Slatina. Aluminium being an energy-intensive industry, a large chunk of capital is spent on energy requirements. Alro spent nearly a third of the company’s cost...
