Aluminum Reduction Cell Life During bullish aluminum pricing cycle, smelter management typically emphasizes increasing production, but during bearish cycles, it turns to cost reduction strategies. Unfortunately most of the smelter’s costs are determined by factors that are beyond the control of internal management. For example: Alumina, coke and power pricing are usually determined by long […]
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Technology and innovation play an important role in achieving sustainable growth and impacting competitiveness. Today, mineral and metal industry across the globe is facing a serious economic crisis due to continuous fall in commodity prices, depleting raw material sources, non-availability of high grade ores, stringent environmental rules and societal expectations. In the era of declining […]
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We are already halfway through the current financial year and the slowdown in the commodity market is showing no signs of letting up. Key “leading indicators” like aluminium have been declining steadily on the London Metal Exchange (LME), hitting fresh lows every day. This trend is clearly indicative of a widespread economic downturn which has […]
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Oil has been the prime industry in Middle East ever since it was discovered in Iran in 1911 by a British Company, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC). It was not until the 1950s that Middle Eastern countries started enjoying the riches from their oil business. Foreign investments and revenues flowed into Middle East consisting of […]
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The recession which started in 2008 has affected all industry sectors, aluminium being no exception. The LME has since then dropped from a high of nearly $ 3200 per ton at its peak and is now hovering around $ 1800 in the face of lower global demand. That is nearly a fall of 43 %. […]
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Presently China produces 50% of the World’s alumina and aluminium. Since the 1950-ies, about 35 alumina refineries and 60 aluminium smelters were built in China using domestic and imported raw materials. Consequently, there are multiple refinery technologies in China, e.g., high temperature and low temperature Bayer process, sintering process, flotation-Bayer process and sweetening process. Absence […]
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During the past few decades, application areas for aluminium have steadily expanded. The metal’s properties like recyclability, non-corrosiveness, low density and high strength benefit the industrial, construction and manufacturing sector in a number of ways. Aluminium production is rapidly developing all over the world and the growth of the industry in a specific country is […]
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There seems to be a common belief in the World that the Industrial and Mining activities are Environmentally harmful. In 1960s, the Club of Rome in its book Limits to Growth indicated that the Dooms Day for the mankind was within sight as the mineral resources on the Earth were getting exhausted fast limiting the […]
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An interesting press release landed on my desk the other day. According to the press release, China’s Chalieco, the engineering division of Chinalco, has signed an agreement with an Australian company for the supply of graphite from a mine in Mozambique. The press release was issued by the miner, a company called Syrah Resources, […]
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Those forced to pay the new record highs in the aluminium premiums in the USA may not feel like breaking into song, but they will certainly be asking “What’s going on?” Midwest premiums shot up at the start of the year, and are now north of US$400 per tonne. (Midwest premiums are quoted in US […]
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