Alcoa’s 16kg aluminium wheel could change fleet efficiency equation
A truck’s overall weight comes from dozens of components, including the engine, chassis, tyres, etc. Wheels are one area where fleets can explore lightweighting. Traditional steel wheels, widely used across the transport industry, are known for their robustness. Forged Alcoa aluminium wheels offer...
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...
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Worsley's major expansion reaches capacity
THE major expansion of operations at BHP Billiton Worsley Alumina is now officially complete with the refinery reaching its nameplate capacity of 4.6 million tonnes per annum. The major milestone has been reached in Worsley’s 30th year of operations in the South West, with celebrations planned to...
Bauxite mining suspended due to rains
BAUXITE mining has been suspended until weather conditions improve. Aurum Exploration Fiji Ltd director Derek Qiu confirmed work had stopped in November after the last shipment left for China. The company sent 12 shipments last year. "Mining work has stopped but we are still keeping the workers to...
Software company Anahata offers services to Melbourne's aluminium smelting industry
Anahata specializes in the delivery of cross-platform solutions that are developed using open source technology with open standards. With this, the company is able to guarantee compatibility, stability and security over the lifespan of the application while reducing ongoing and upfront license...
AMMG appoints consultants to produce High Purity Alumina samples
Australia Minerals and Mining Group Limited announces that it has appointed specialist process consultants to produce commercial samples of its high purity alumina (HPA) product and to conduct test work to optimize AMMG's process flow sheet. Batch test work will initially be required in order to...
ALCOA not to seek further government assistance for its Point Henry smelter
ALCOA will not seek further government assistance for its troubled Point Henry aluminium smelter, dramatically increasing the chances of its closure this year and the loss of 500 more jobs in Victoria's manufacturing sector. The company revealed yesterday that neither state nor federal aid was...
New plasma cutter to increase Surtees boats production
Surtees Boats has installed a new ProMax 1800 Plasma Cutter into its Kawerau manufacturing facility in a move to increase production and to meet growing demand for their range of production aluminium boats. Plasma cutting isn’t new to Surtees, the company was one of the first New Zealand aluminium...
Portland smelter jobs safe, says Alcoa
Jobs at Portland Aluminium are in the clear after Alcoa ruled the south-west smelter out of a review process into it’s troubled Point Henry site near Geelong. Point Henry workers will know in March what the company will do with the smelter, which received a Commonwealth bailout in 2012 that’s set...
Two other potential bauxite sites identified at Bua
The Mining Company Arum Exploration Limited has identified two other potential bauxite sites in the same province of Nasarawaqa and Wainunu in Bua. This has been revealed as the British High Commissioner Roderick Drummond is on an official trip visiting major projects being carried out in the...
Decision on Pt Henry smelter in March
More than 500 workers at Geelong's Point Henry aluminium smelter will find out in March whether they will keep their jobs, as Alcoa decides on the plant's future. The US global aluminium giant confirmed on Tuesday that a decision on the smelter's future would be made by the end of March. Alcoa...
Smelter's safety record 'disappointing'
New Zealand Aluminium Smelters' safety performance at the Tiwai Pt plant was disappointing in 2013 and this year it must improve, its boss says. NZ Aluminium Smelters general manager Gretta Stephens highlighted safety in the recent Tiwai Pointer newsletter. "Unfortunately, our safety performance in...
Smelter's competitiveness hurt as production is reduced
A large amount of aluminium business would be taken away by competitors from Queensland due to Boyne Smelter Ltd's three-month production cutback. The smelter will be producing 14,000 tonnes less than usual from January to the end of March. The decision to reduce aluminium production has stemmed...
Power failure at Tiwai smelter
Tiwai Aluminium Smelter was halted this morning after a power went out to most of the site. After an 11kV cable failed at 5am, AC power on the site caused a systems fail. A spokeswoman for the smelter said power had now been restored. ''Power is now restored but staff are still trying to get some...
Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter recovering to viability
New Zealand Aluminium Smelters general manager Gretta Stephens says she is making some headway on returning the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter to viability, but admits it is proving to be a tough task. Her aim is to ensure the smelter is on a solid footing and back in the black. An improvement plan to...
XINFA Bauxite Mining Group invests in community projects in Bua, Fiji
THE XINFA Bauxite Mining Group injected about $1.2million into the Vanua Levu economy last year in the form of workers salaries. Group executive director Sang Lei said they were expecting more this year taking into account the amount of financial help they had been diverting towards...
Malaysian delegation shines at Building Materials and Malaysia Services Exhibition in Christchurch, New Zealand
The Malaysian delegation to Specialised Marketing Mission on Building Materials and Malaysia Services Exhibition in Christchurch has generated sales of RM192.95 million. Among the products that contributed to the sales were pre-fabricated building products, aluminium extrusions, plumbing products,...
Morgan Advanced Materials Produces Plasma Cavity for ANU
Morgan Advanced Materials, a leading supplier of high purity Alumina custom-made, high precision ceramic components, provided a prototype plasma cavity for the Helicon Double Layer Thruster (HDLT), a new gas plasma space engine for use on satellites being developed by the Australian National...
Fiji achieves success in Bauxite mining
About $28.8million worth of bauxite has been exported to China from Bua mines at Fiji this year. This is equivalent to 12 shipments of bauxite sent from Bua in the North. Acting Commissioner Northern Alipate Bolalevu said the mining investment at Nawailevu in Bua had been a success. He said the...
Alcoa's aluminum production cuts not to help the aluminium industry considerably
Aluminum production is rising in Africa, China, the Arabian Gulf, Eastern and Central Europe and (this surprised us a little) North America, but it is falling in Oceania, South America, Western Europe and Asia (ex-China), according to FastMarkets. We continue our Aluminum Outlook 2014 from Part One...
