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Aluminium News
The state of Chinese commodities shows recovery taking hold
By: Bloomberg Updated 5 hours ago From oil to copper to coal, China’s gigantic commodities industry is signaling that the first economy to be flattened by the coronavirus is getting closer to a return to normality. Bloomberg Economics estimates that most of China was 90% to 95% back to work at the end of last week, noting... →
Global GDP to contract 1.9% this year, spark commodity oversupply, says Fitch
By: Simone Liedtke 6th April 2020 Owing to unprecedented lockdown in much of Europe, the US and across the globe, the world is currently experiencing considerably lower economic activity, which in turn significantly reduces commodity consumption, says ratings agency Fitch Ratings. As a result, it expects global gross domestic... →
Rusal, Glencore agree aluminium deal worth up to $16.3bn
By: Reuters 3rd April 2020 Russia's Rusal has approved a new long-term aluminium supply contract with Glencore worth up to $16.3-billion, it said in a Hong-Kong regulatory statement on Friday. Swiss trader and metals producer Glencore has long been one of the main clients of Hong Kong-listed Rusal, the world's largest... →
Standard Bank meeting all capital and liquidity requirements 
By: Martin Creamer 1st April 2020 Capital and liquidity requirements across all the markets in which it operates are continuing to be met, Standard Bank Group FD Dr Arno Daehnke said during an investor call. Daehnke disclosed that the bank was benefitting from building up increased capital levels over the last few years in line... →
Rio halts potline at NZ smelter
By: Esmarie Iannucci 31st March 2020 Major Rio Tinto will close one of its four potlines at Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, in New Zealand, as part of measures to combat Covid-19. CEO and GM of the New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter, in which Rio holds a 79.36% interest, Stewart Hamilton said that the company had worked hard to... →
Mining could be enormous post-virus stabiliser – Minerals Council
By: Martin Creamer 29th March 2020 The mining industry could be an enormous asset in stabilising and growing the economy post the coronavirus crisis – but the right economic and regulatory circumstances would have to prevail, Minerals Council South Africa stated in a weekend media release. Post coronavirus, South Africa would... →
Automotive battery makers looking to alternative chemistry to lower costs
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 18th March 2020 Major automotive battery makers and car manufacturers are planning to alter battery chemistry to lower the cost of new electric vehicles (EVs) being rolled out this year, mining and materials forecaster Afriforesight says. The race to cost cuts intensified last week with the largest Chinese EV... →
HPA First to cost A$308m
By: Esmarie Iannucci 17th March 2020 The definitive feasibility study (DFS) into ASX-listed Alpha HPA’s high purity alumina (HPA) First project, in Queensland, has found that it could generate free annual cash flows of A$280-million a year from the production of 10 000 t/y HPA. The project is expected to require a capital... →
China warns metals firms not to race back from virus
By: Reuters 6th March 2020 China's Industry Ministry said on Friday metals firms should not seek to ramp up production at all costs and should "avoid vicious competition" with one another as they return to work in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Industrial production in China, the world's biggest metals consumer,... →
New Zealand on tenterhooks over Rio Tinto smelter closure risk
By: Reuters 26th February 2020 Meridian Energy, New Zealand's top power producer, on Wednesday played down market expectations that Rio Tinto would keep its New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) open when it decides on the plant's fate in the next month. The global miner's smelter at Tiwai Point is New Zealand's largest power... →
Rio Tinto's aluminium smelter in New Zealand.
Rio punts refinery technology
By: Esmarie Iannucci 14th February 2020 Mining giant Rio Tinto and aluminium equipment supplier STAS have agreed to terms to commercialise Rio’s advanced compact filtration (AFC) technology for aluminium cast houses. The ACF technology developed by Rio will now be manufactured and sold under license by equipment manufacturer STAS... →
Low carbon future to dictate PDAC 2020 talks
By: Tracy Hancock 14th February 2020 Mineral exploration and mining’s role in the global shift towards a low carbon future could dominate discussions at this year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention, PDAC executive director Lisa McDonald tells Mining Weekly. “To meet demand for electric vehicle... →
Rio Tinto reviews future of unprofitable Iceland smelter
By: Mariaan Webb 12th February 2020 Diversified mining major Rio Tinto has announced a strategic review of the ISAL smelter in Iceland, to determine the operation's “ongoing viability and explore options to improve its competitive position”. The smelter, which the company unsuccessfully tried to sell a year-and-a-half ago, is... →
Vedanta sets sights on zinc, silver, iron-ore output growth 
By: Kim Cloete 12th February 2020 CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – Natural resources company Vedanta Resources is aiming to become the world's biggest producer of zinc, as well as to double its production of silver and increase its iron-ore output from 10-million to 15-million tonnes a year. Vedanta has a presence in steel,... →
Alpha HPA picks spot for HPA plant
By: Esmarie Iannucci 11th February 2020 ASX-listed Alpha HPA has tipped Gladstone, in Queensland, as the preferred site for it’s A$200-million high purity alumina (HPA) plant. The company has secured an option with Economic Development Queensland on a 10 ha land parcel, and would now seek to negotiate the final purchase terms for... →
HPA scoping proves up for Pure Minerals
By: Esmarie Iannucci 7th February 2020 A scoping study into the production of high purity alumina (HPA) as a cop-product at the Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH project), in northern Queensland, has demonstrated that the project could become a one-stop shop for key battery chemicals, owner Pure Minerals said on Friday. A... →
Alcore appoints Clough as engineering firm
By: Esmarie Iannucci 4th February 2020 ASX-listed Australian Bauxite subsidiary Alcore has appointed engineering firm Clough Projects Australia to provide the engineering for the design and construction of its planned bauxite refining plant. “Clough is an ideal engineer for Alcore’s transition from lab research stage to its first... →
En+ raises stake in Rusal to 57% after Glencore asset swap
By: Reuters 3rd February 2020 Russia's En+ Group has raised its stake in aluminium giant Rusal to 56.88% after completing an asset swap with Glencore, part of a deal that has helped companies controlled by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska to ward off US sanctions. En+ Group and Glencore agreed in 2017 that Glencore would swap... →
Alcoa says power restored to Australian plant after heat waves
By: Reuters 3rd February 2020 Power to Alcoa's Portland aluminium smelter has returned to normal levels after a blackout on Friday caused by heat waves in Australia's south, the company said in a statement on Monday. One of two transmission lines to the smelter remains out of service due to the outage, however, Alcoa added.... →
South Africa will caution Trump against ‘premature’ trade review
By: Bloomberg 29th January 2020 South Africa’s government will tell President Donald Trump’s administration that its review of a preferential trade agreement that could put as much as $2.4-billion in exports at risk is premature and potentially damaging for both economies. The US Trade Representative will start public hearings... →
Indonesian mining giant seeks to triple aluminium production
By: Bloomberg 22nd January 2020 PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium has set a long-term goal of tripling its production capacity by expanding operations to the island of Borneo as it seeks to utilise the region’s abundant bauxite reserves. The State-owned company known as Inalum plans to boost capacity to 750 000 tons by building a... →
Court paves way for Vedanta to source alumina from competitor Nalco
By: Ajoy K Das 22nd January 2020 India’s Supreme Court has permitted Vedanta to bid for alumina from State-run National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) for the former’s bauxite starved smelters in the eastern state of Odisha. Under the court order, Vedanta has been permitted to participate in Nalco’s alumina export tenders... →
World risks 'disaster' as reuse of natural resources declines
By: Reuters 21st January 2020 The proportion of raw materials the world is reusing has fallen, researchers said on Tuesday, warning of a "global disaster" as annual consumption of natural resources rose to 100-billion tonnes for the first time. Just 8.6% of the 100-billion tonnes of materials – including minerals, metals,... →
Alcoa bid to stem losses runs up against world awash in aluminium
By: Bloomberg 16th January 2020 Alcoa Corp’s bid to stem a year-long profit slide isn’t getting much help from an aluminum market that’s showing little promise of recovery. The top US producer of the metal sees the aluminum market swinging to a surplus, adding more gloom to a slumping commodity and giving more urgency to a... →
US to impose sanctions on Iran’s metal exports and leaders
By: Bloomberg 10th January 2020 The Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Iran on Friday, including penalties on the Islamic Republic’s metals and some senior leaders, following Tehran’s attack on US military bases. The sanctions target steel, aluminum, copper and iron, as well as eight senior Iranian officials and... →
Australian exports forecast for record year in 2019/20
By: Esmarie Iannucci 19th December 2019 Australia’s resource and energy export earnings are forecast to set a record A$281-billion in 2019-20, up from A$279-billion in 2018-19, new data from the Office of the Chief Economist has revealed. Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan noted that the record earnings are... →
Most mining company ratings have ‘stable outlooks’, says Fitch
By: Simone Liedtke 18th December 2019 The Rating Outlook for the global mining sector in 2020 remains Stable, as slower demand for some commodities is counterbalanced by supply restrictions for others, Fitch Ratings says. A weakened macroeconomic environment has caused demand and prices for some commodities to fall, which the ratings... →
Management at Bosnia's sole aluminium smelter resigns
By: Reuters 17th December 2019 The management of Bosnia's sole aluminium smelter, Aluminij Mostar, has resigned after an only investor interested to help it restart production had submitted an inadequate offer, the company said on Tuesday. The smelter was shut down in July over debt it had incurred because of high electricity... →
GFG agrees to buy Duffel aluminium plant in Belgium from Novelis
By: Reuters 6th December 2019 GFG Alliance, owned by British commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, has agreed to buy the Duffel aluminium plant in Belgium from Novelis, the group said on Friday. The deal for the plant, which supplies the auto industry and is one of the largest rolling mills in Europe, adds to a string of... →
Apple buys first carbon-free aluminium from Alcoa, Rio Tinto JV 
By: Simone Liedtke 6th December 2019 Technology company Apple has bought the first-ever commercial batch of carbon-free aluminium from a joint venture (JV) between two aluminum suppliers. The metal is being made by Elysis, the Montreal-based JV of Alcoa and Rio Tinto. The JV was established last year, with $144-million in funding... →
Recent developments bode well for copper, copper alloys
By: Mamaili Mamaila 6th December 2019 Several developments are making copper and copper alloys increasingly important, says metallurgical industry plant and integrated systems provider SMS group. →
FYI granted space at Kwinana
By: Esmarie Iannucci 4th December 2019 ASX-listed FYI Resources has secured an industrial site in the Kwinana industrial area for its high purity alumina (HPA) refining facility to refine kaolin feedstock from its Cadoux project. MD Roland Hill on Wednesday said that the Kwinana industrial area was a world-class industrial hub,... →
Base metals fundamentally in good shape despite lower demand – Glencore
By: Martin Creamer 3rd December 2019 Despite weaker 2019 demand, base metals are fundamentally in good shape, Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg said on Tuesday. Presenting an investor update with Glencore CFO Steve Kalmin and Glencore industrial assets head Peter Freyberg, Glasenberg described copper, zinc and nickel markets as being... →
Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg
Granges to buy Poland's Aluminium Konin
By: Reuters 28th November 2019 Sweden's Granges said on Thursday it had agreed to buy Polish aluminium producer Aluminium Konin for 2.3-billion Swedish crowns ($239-million), expanding its presence in Europe and boosting its position in growth areas such as materials for electric vehicles. The deal, subject to approval by... →
Alcoa joins the ICMM
By: Creamer Media Reporter 21st November 2019 US-headquartered bauxite, alumina and aluminium products producer Alcoa has become the twenty-seventh company to become a member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), which brings together companies and regional and commodities associations to strengthen the mining industry's... →
Solar reducing electricity costs, lowering diesel use
By: Martin Creamer 20th November 2019 Solar power is playing a major role in reducing daytime electricity bills and lowering diesel use in off-grid diesel consuming areas, says SunRanch.Solar, whose clients are benefiting from below grid power costs and major diesel savings. “We reduce people’s daytime power costs by 60% to 70%,”... →
SMB-Winning beats Fortescue to Guinea iron-ore deposit with $14bn deal
By: Reuters 13th November 2019 A consortium of Guinea's Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB) and Singapore's Winning said on Wednesday it won a tender to develop blocks 1 and 2 of Guinea's giant Simandou iron-ore project, edging out Australia's Fortescue in a $14-billion deal. The consortium committed to developing the mine, which... →
FYI's HPA plant makes the grade
By: Esmarie Iannucci 6th November 2019 The first round of results from ASX-listed FYI Resources’ high purity alumina (HPA) pilot plant trial has achieved grades of 99.99%, the company said on Wednesday. The plant operated continuously from October 2 to 9 on a 24/7 basis, and either met or exceeded the modelled operational... →
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