US imported 11.5x more primary aluminium from Canada than it exported in semi-fabricated form in H1 2026 - know why
At the US-Canada border, aluminium is constantly on the move, but the direction of trade is far from balanced. In the first six months of 2026, the US imported 907,581.44 tonnes of primary aluminium from Canada, while exporting only 78,886.12 tonnes of semi-fabricated aluminium products such as...
Australian bauxite forecast at $39/t vs Guinea at $34-46/t: How ore quality, freight and oversupply are shaping prices
What happens when the world’s biggest bauxite supplier produces too much of the one commodity it dominates? Guinea’s bauxite market is offering a striking answer. Record exports have strengthened its position in global trade, but the surge in supply has also pushed prices lower. Australia,...
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Alcan aluminium smelter workers set to leave
HUNDREDS of workers at Northumberland’s biggest private sector employer are set to leave in three months’ time as detailed discussions on its planned closure near completion. A formal consultation on the proposed shutdown of the 512-job Rio Tinto Alcan aluminium smelter at Lynemouth ends next week....
Aluminium smelter a goldmine for Taib’s kin
The website in a report on Thursday said that negotiations are under way to sell Salco to giant multinational Rio Tinto Alcan headquartered in Montreal, Canada, in a deal it said would earn “a fat multi-billion profit” for Taib’s family in return for their paltry investment of RM2.The deal to sell...
Rio Tinto Alcan welcomes the first electrolytic cell at its Arvida AP60 Technology Centre
The first AP60 cell has been delivered to Rio Tinto Alcan's Arvida AP60 Technology Centre, located in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. "This is a momentous day for Rio Tinto Alcan. With the new generation of AP60 cells, metal production per cell will be 40 per cent higher than in other existing...
Alcan Proves Costly to Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto's $8.9 billion write-down on its Alcan aluminum division casts a pall over the struggling aluminum sector and offers a cautionary tale to mining companies contemplating big buys, the most significant being Glencore International AG and Xstrata PLC's current plans to combine into an $80...
Aluminium losing battle against over supply
Excess capacity in aluminium smelting will drag on for years to come, even while losses weigh on producers, as political pressures in China and Russia to keep jobs and push self-sufficiency prevent or delay plant closures. Rio Tinto (RIO.L) (RIO.AX) acknowledged a gloomy outlook for the sector this...
Rio's Profit Slumps 59% on Aluminum Impairment Charge
Rio Tinto's chief executive and chief finance officer will forgo their annual bonuses, after the miner reported a 59% drop in profit for last year. Rio Tinto's 2011 earnings were hit by US$9.29 billion in impairment charges, mainly against the value of the company's aluminum business. The blow was...
Rio Tinto vows to protect Austrothelphusa crab
Mining company Rio Tinto says it will go beyond the call of environmental safeguards to protect a newly discovered freshwater crab if it is allowed to expand a Cape York bauxite mine. Rio submitted its second environmental impact statement (EIS) on the South of Embley project to the Queensland...
Rio Tinto chief Tom Albanese waives bonus after profits drop on aluminium hit
The chief executive of mining giant Rio Tinto said he will not take an annual bonus after the company posted an $8.9bn (£5.6bn) writedown on the value of aluminium assets bought under his oversight. Tom Albanese said he declined to be considered for the reward because of what has happened to the...
Aluminium warps Rio out of shape
FALLING aluminium prices sparking a massive writedown of Rio Tinto's assets have sent the miner's full-year net profit tumbling almost 60 per cent. And chief executive Tom Albanese has been forced to forgo any bonus for 2011 due to the bleak development. The mining heavyweight's aluminium business...
Rio Tinto swings to loss after aluminium writeoff
Global miner Rio Tinto took an $8.9 billion charge on its struggling aluminium business on Thursday, triggering a second-half net loss amid a gloomy medium-term outlook for the metal. Five straight years of surpluses in aluminium and rising input costs have hammered margins in the industry, sharply...
Pacific Alumina business sale may be on hold
The global mining giant Rio Tinto which had its performance in 2010 overshadowed by the profit line achieved by its only major rival, BHP Billiton, may put its sale of Pacific Aluminium on hold. The company’s chief financial officer told reporters in Melbourne yesterday that at present conditions...
Rio Tinto Says Its not right Time for Aluminum Unit Sale
Global miner Rio Tinto said now was not the right time to be trying to sell its Pacific Aluminum business, which it is looking to spin off after taking an $8.9 billion writedown on its aluminum business. "At present these are tough conditions to be selling aluminum assets," Chief Financial Officer...
Rio Tinto dividend surprise masks aluminium hit
Global miner Rio Tinto reported a 6 percent drop in underlying second-half profits and took a $9.3 billion (5.8 billion pounds) charge mainly against its aluminium business, but appeased investors with a huge dividend hike, underscoring its long-term confidence. Like rival BHP Billiton on...
Aluminium writedown slashes Rio profit
Rio Tinto has booked a 59 per cent slump in full year net profit due mainly to a writedown of its aluminium business, but underlying earnings jumped eleven per cent. The mining giant on Thursday reported net profit of $US5.8 billion ($A5.39 billion) for calendar 2011, compared to $US14.32 billion...
Tiwai smelter value cut by 30%
The Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is among a group of Rio Tinto assets which has had its valuation cut by more than 30 per cent. The Wall Street Journal reported that Deutsche Bank analysts had valued Pacific Aluminium, the business unit made up of five Australian smelters and Tiwai, at US$4.4...
Aussie Aluminum Heading for Scrap Heap
Low metals prices, high costs and the strong Australian dollar are doing to the country's aluminum-smelting industry what a frat boy does to his empty beer can: crushing it. Australia is the world's fourth-largest producer of refined aluminum and the third-largest exporter, according to Deutsche...
RIO to restart Shawinigan production lines
Rio Tinto Alcan will restart the two suspended lines of production at its 100kt/y Shawinigan smelter in Quebec, Canada to bring the plant back to full production. A major power outage on December 29, 2011 forced the closure of two of the plant's four production lines. The process of gradually...
Rio’s Malaysia aluminium smelter plans stall over power
Rio Tinto’s plans to build a $US4.5?billion hydro-powered aluminium smelter in Malaysia appear to have stalled, with negotiations on a power contract taking far longer than expected when the project was unveiled in 2007.
