Earlier this month the United States Congress passed into law President Joe Biden’s US$1.2 trillion infrastructure package. The Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act (or the INVEST in America Act) will allocate US$550 billion for the country’s infrastructure over the next five years and will provide funding […]
The global aluminium market has been watching the trials and travails of Chinese behemoth Zhongwang with intense interest for the past few weeks after the company and its founder Liu Zhongtian were brought up on criminal charges by the United States federal government for evading $1.8 billion in import duties. The indictment, which was filed […]
Between October 28 and November 1st, London hosted the traditional London Metals Exchange (LME) Week gathering of analysts, brokers, traders and industry experts from all over the world to hear and exchange information on latest developments related to base metals and their outlook for the next year. The main event is the LME Seminar, which […]
Base metals prices reacted positively to the progress registered in the latest round of US – China trade talks in mid-October, but the markets remained cautious about the prospects for a final agreement. Other than nickel and lead, base metal prices have been trading lower this year, with aluminium the second worst performer, and tin […]
After Venezuela’s energy supply failed on March 8th, the directors of the CVG together with the presidents of each company decided to shut down Venalum and Alcasa. With a joint installed capacity of 600 thousand tons of primary aluminium per year, both sites were already operating at less than 15% of their capacity, due to […]
After a year marked by deep regression and economic paralysis, Venezuela has decided to revive its lagging economy by resurrecting a rescue plan for the country’s aluminum industry…that failed to deliver positive results in 2018. The companies that make up the Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) closed 2018 in the red, reporting declining production values […]
Poland, one of the biggest economies in Central Europe, is also home to one of the fastest developing aluminium markets in the region. The country’s aluminium consumption grew by about 10 percent in 2018, reaching 1.43 million tons. According to information published by “Nowa Stal” Magazine, the driving force behind this growth came from secondary […]
A consistent spike in coal costs has roiled India’s aluminium producers. If a spate of imports of fake semis and a clutch of value added products weren’t enough, smelters are unnerved by spiralling coal prices. Their worries are justified by the contribution of coal to the cost of aluminium smelting – power costs account for […]
Mounting concerns over the trade war between the US and China have sent jitters across global financial and commodity markets. The imposition of billions of dollars worth of tariffs by Washington on Beijing, followed by the knee-jerk retaliation by the Middle Kingdom have sent metals markets into a tizzy. Repercussions of the US-China tussle have […]
With China gearing up for the lunar new year, the good news is that the air quality has improved significantly this winter, many calling this the “brightest” winter in the last five years. Although the favorable weather has played a part, the central government should definitely be given more credit for its environmental campaign. As […]
As mentioned in the first part of this series, three main policies will remain in force this winter. We have already shown that the policy of shutting down illegal production capacity is strictly implemented. So far, the vast majority of illegal production have been closed or halted. The same trend is visible in the implementation […]
Global warming remains one of the leading critical global issues – emphasised in the last Paris accord and this month’s COP23 summit in Bonn. The carbon equivalent (CE), as a measure of how much CO2 is produced by any activity, is now accepted as a crucial major index of environmental performance, not least for the […]
Good news for aluminium technology? Given that the automotive and aviation sectors both remain major markets for aluminium technologies worldwide, any development that spans both – such as flying cars – is worthy of note. Although cars that fly, or alternatively road-able aircraft and hovercars, have for years featured prominently in fantasy and science fiction […]
‘Sustainability’ now interfaces with business on a number of fronts, including operational performance, regulatory compliance, commercial relationships and broader reputation. Governments, leading companies, NGOs and consumers are increasingly focused on how companies should approach sustainability issues in their own businesses and supply chains. Increasingly, business approaches need to be closely integrated with broader regulatory frameworks […]