Latest news with #smelter
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Adani's Kutch Copper plant begins processing ores amid global shortage
The Adani Kutch Copper plant, a new smelter owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, began operations this week, reported Bloomberg, citing sources. The plant in Gujarat began processing mined ores despite previous delays caused by a global shortage of feedstock. The move is part of a broader initiative to reduce India's dependence on imported copper. The facility, with an initial capacity of 500,000 tonnes per annum (tpa), was initially due to begin in 2024 but faced setbacks due to smelter expansions worldwide. Adani Enterprises launched the first phase in March last year, with ambitions to expand the capacity to one million tonnes (mt) by the end of fiscal year 2029. According to the report, raw materials are currently being fed into the plant, although it is anticipated that it could take up to 18 months to reach full operational capacity, significantly longer than the typical two-to-three-month ramp-up period. To function at full scale, the smelter would need approximately 1.6mt of concentrated copper ores. A spokesperson for Adani Enterprises confirmed that the Kutch Copper smelter is now operational and is working towards achieving peak capacity. The challenge of securing concentrates has been a global issue for smelters, exacerbated by the influx of new plants and the consequent decline in processing margins. The increase in smelting capacity is partly due to new integrated plants in mining operations in Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which have reduced the availability of concentrates for other smelters, the report said. Furthermore, the rapid expansion of stand-alone smelters that procure their raw materials from the open market has also contributed to the shortage. This includes the Adani plant and several significant operations in China, such as the new 500,000tpa copper smelter launched by Tongling Nonferrous Metals earlier this year. "Adani's Kutch Copper plant begins processing ores amid global shortage" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
India's New Copper Plant Finally Starts Amid Acute Ore Shortage
A new copper smelter owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani started processing mined ores this week after multiple delays due to a lack of feedstock, according to people familiar with the matter. The 500,000-ton-a-year Kutch Copper plant in Gujarat is part of a copper-producing complex that Adani is building to cut India's reliance on imported metal. The smelter was scheduled to start in 2024, but faced delays as smelter expansions elsewhere fueled a global shortage of ores.
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Alba promotes Bahraini Saleem Helal Ali Yateem to Acting Manager, Casthouse Services
MANAMA (ALBH): Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the world's largest smelter on one site, announces the promotion of Saleem Helal Ali Yateem to Acting Manager, Casthouse Services, effective 16 June 2025. Saleem Helal Ali Yateem's career at Alba began in 2008 as a Senior Mechanical Engineer. His dedication and exceptional technical acumen were instrumental in navigating complex maintenance landscapes and spearheading critical capital expenditure projects. In his new role as Acting Manager Casthouse Services, Saleem will focus on guiding the Casthouse through dynamic market conditions to ensure the right value-added mix. Commenting on this promotion, Alba's Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Baqali stated: 'Saleem's journey is not just a promotion; it's a testament to a vision where the future is built by Bahraini hands and led by Bahraini minds. We are proud to see national talent rising to leading roles, armed with technical knowledge and the strategic foresight to navigate complex challenges.' Saleem Helal Ali Yateem holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kuwait University, Masters in Engineering Management from University of Bahrain and a Master of Business Administration from Arabian Gulf University. About Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) [Ticker: ALBH] A Global Aluminium Leader: At plus-1.62 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) (2024), Alba is a world-leading aluminium smelter with a proud 50-year legacy in operational excellence, safety, environmental responsibility, and community development. Trusted Partner: A cornerstone of the Bahrain's economy, Alba produces high-quality aluminium, including standard and value-added products, which are exported to over 280 customers globally. With sales' offices in Europe (Zurich), Asia (Singapore), and a subsidiary in the U.S., Alba is a reliable partner on the world stage. Alba is dually listed on Bahrain Bourse and London Stock Exchange and its shareholders are Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company B.S.C. © (69.38%), Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) (20.62%) and General Public (10%). Alba prioritises the highest quality standards, reflected in its certifications: ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment), ISO 27001 (information security), ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety), and ISO 18788 (security operations management). Additionally, Alba demonstrates its commitment to responsible manufacturing through certifications like IATF 16949 (automotive quality), ISO 22301 (business continuity management), ASI Performance and Chain of Custody Standards, and a top 15% Silver sustainability rating from EcoVadis. Pioneering Sustainability: As the first aluminium smelter in the Middle East, Alba is central to Bahrain's thriving downstream aluminium sector, contributing significantly to the Kingdom's GDP. Committed to social responsibility, Alba employs a workforce that is 87% Bahrainis (2024) and invests heavily in employee training and development. Alba also plays a crucial role in the Aluminium Downstream Park, therefore increasing the contribution of non-oil sectors to the GDP of Bahrain. Alba has been recognised for its initiatives to produce Aluminium responsibly through awards such as Top ESG performer in Bahrain by ESG Invest, Safeguard Label from Bureau Veritas and Best Corporate Governance Award by Ethical Boardroom. Recognised for its environmental practices, social contributions, and corporate governance, Alba launched a comprehensive ESG Roadmap in 2022 focusing on 6 priority areas: (1) Decarbonisation, (2) Green Energy & Aluminium, (3) Circular Economy & Secondary Aluminium, (4) Employee Welfare, (5) Collaboration & Partnership and (6) Transparency, Communications & Due Diligence. Since its inception, Alba has invested into numerous environment, sustainable and socio-economic development projects that have had a positive impact on the society. Alba's first-of-its-kind US$37.5 million zero-waste Spent Pot Lining Treatment Plant, Power Station 5 Block 4 Project, and the upcoming +6 MW Solar Farm Project are tangible initiatives aligned with Bahrain's Net Zero Carbon Targets by 2060 led by HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain. Specifically, Alba's PS5 Block 4 is a new 680.9-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant that expands the existing PS5 facility. Block 4 has increased the nameplate capacity of PS5 Complex from 1,800 MW to 2,481 MW and is reducing the Company's overall GHG emissions intensity ratio by 0.5 tonnes of CO2 per 1 tonne of aluminium produced. In a significant step towards its ESG goals, particularly its commitment to a circular economy and secondary aluminium, Alba introduced EternAlTM, its new line of low-carbon aluminium products. Launched in May 2024, EternAl offers two product series with multiple variations to meet diverse customer needs: one featuring recycled content, and the other integrating verified in-house carbon offsets. Safety First, Always: Guided by the motto "Safety First, Safety Always," Alba prioritises the well-being of its employees and contractors. The Company achieved a record-breaking 36 million safe working hours without a lost-time injury in May 2025. The Company has been recognised internationally for its excellent Safety and Health track record with awards such as the RoSPA's Lifetime President and President Awards (10+ Gold Medal Awards), the British Safety Council's International Safety Award with Merit along with 4-Star Audit Rating, as well as numerous awards from the National Safety Council (NSC). Alba Stakeholder Engagement Plan Alba prioritises open communication with all its stakeholders, including the community, environmental and social groups. Through its Stakeholder Engagement Plan, the Company proactively addresses environmental and social impacts of its operations, outlining clear mitigation controls. Alba also maintains an external Grievance Mechanism accessible through the Code of Conduct, allowing stakeholders and the public to voice concerns and raise issues. Alba's External Grievance Mechanism Alba prioritises ethical conduct and environmental responsibility. Stakeholders, employees, contractors, and the community can confidentially report any potential breaches of Alba's Code of Conduct or raise concerns about environmental and social impacts through the Alba Integrity Line. This independent, multilingual hotline operates 24/7 and is accessible via a toll-free phone number, the company intranet, or the website at For further details, please contact: Eline Hilal Director, Investor Relations, Insurance & Corporate Secretary Investor Relations Department E-mail: Website: Follow us on:
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Australia's biggest aluminium smelter on verge of collapse putting up to 6000 jobs in jeopardy
Australia's biggest aluminium smelter is in crisis talks with the federal and state governments to continue operating as crippling electricity bills threaten 6,000 jobs. Tomago, which is majority owned by mining giant Rio Tinto, is negotiating on the design of its 2026 to 2029 electricity contract, The Australian Financial Review revealed last week. The Newcastle smelter employs 1,200 people full-time but its possible closure would joepardise the future of another 5,000 workers in the Hunter region, north of Sydney. Australia's key aluminium smelter, which opened in 1983, is now seeking support from the NSW and federal governments to stay afloat as Australia's only manufacturer of long-steel, in Whyalla, is propped up by the South Australian government. The latest development comes a week after Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium to 50 per cent. Sydney radio 2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham suggested taxpayers could be stumping up billions of dollars just to keep Tomago afloat. 'This is not good: Tomago Aluminium, Australia's biggest smelter is on the verge of collapse,' he said on Tuesday. 'Why? Their power bill is too high. They're in emergency talks with state and federal governments asking for billions of dollars just to stay open. And if it shuts, well, we're not just losing a smelter, we're risking 6,000 jobs. 'There are thousands of families, contractors, supplies and regional businesses on the line.' Rio Tinto, which owns 51.55 per cent of Tomago Aluminium Company, in January welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Future Made in Australia plan to provide production credits to alumunium manufacturers. Chief executive Kellie Parker also begged for federal government help to pay for sky-high electricity bills. 'The Australian government's commitment shows strong confidence in domestic manufacturing and the nation's position in the global economy,' she said. 'As traditional energy sources for heavy industry become increasingly uncompetitive, today's announcement is a critical piece in helping future-proof the industry. 'Such support is crucial for sustaining and growing regional economies.' The smelter's big shareholder Rio Tinto also flagged a bailout package from the NSW government to keep Tomago operating. 'Rio Tinto also welcomes ... looks forward to working with the New South Wales Government to help secure the future of that operation,' it said in a media release. Tomago, which is majority owned by mining giant Rio Tinto, employs 1,200 people full-time but its possible closure would jeopardise the future of another 5,000 workers in the Hunter region north of Sydney Rio Tinto also owns the Boyne Smelter in central Queensland, which last year received subsidies from the state government to transition to renewable energy. Albanese in January visited the Tomago plant with the Labor member for the then marginal seat of Paterson, Meryl Swanson. 'This is my third visit to Tomago, because this is such an important facility,' he said. 'And essentially it's about people, it's about the jobs that are created here. Up to a thousand direct jobs. 'But when you look at this local community, there's 5,000 jobs depend on this facility just locally. But more importantly than that, it's the tens of thousands of jobs throughout Australia that depend on us being able to make things here.'
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US aluminium smelters vie with Big Tech for scarce power
LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - It's forty-five years since anyone built a primary aluminium smelter in the United States. When Alumax fired up the Mt Holly plant in South Carolina in 1980, the country's tally of smelters rose to 33 with combined annual capacity of almost five million metric tons of aluminium. Today that number has shrunk to six. Two are fully curtailed. Two, including Mt Holly, are running below capacity. Annual production has shrunk to 700,000 tons. Emirates Global Aluminium hopes to reverse the tide with a new plant, opens new tab in Oklahoma. It joins Century Aluminum (CENX.O), opens new tab, which was awarded federal funding, opens new tab by the Joe Biden administration for a new "green" low-carbon smelter somewhere in the Ohio/Mississippi River Basins. Both projects face the same dilemma. High power prices killed off most of the country's smelters and a lack of competitively priced power has deterred anyone from building one since the last century. It doesn't help that any smelter project must compete for electricity with tech companies willing to pay almost anything for their power-hungry data centres. Aluminium compounds have been around since ancient times, used by the Egyptians as a dye-fixer and the Persians for pottery. But it wasn't until the early 19th century that anyone worked out how to refine bauxite into metal and even then it remained something of an expensive curiosity. Global production was just two tons in 1869 and aluminium was more valuable, opens new tab than gold. The solution, discovered independently by Charles Martin Hall in the United States and Paul Héroult in France, was to use electrolysis on an intermediate product called alumina. The Hall-Héroult process, opens new tab is still the dominant technology in producing a metal that is now ubiquitous in buildings, vehicles and consumer packaging. And it needs a lot of uninterrupted power. It takes 14,821 kilowatt-hours of electricity to make a ton of aluminium, according to the U.S. Aluminum Association. A modern-size smelter with annual capacity of 750,000 tons needs more power than a city the size of Boston. That's a big challenge for any primary aluminium producer in the United States given the Energy Information Administration estimates that the country will be facing an energy deficit of 31 million megawatt-hours by 2030 and 48 million by 2035. The power is available right now to build a new U.S. aluminium smelter, according to Matt Aboud, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development at Century Aluminum. The problem, he explained at last week's CRU Aluminium Conference in London, is that it isn't available at a fixed long-term price, which is what a smelter needs to lock in its profitability and pay back construction costs that will run into the billions of dollars. The Aluminum Association estimates that a new U.S. smelter would need a minimum 20-year power contract at a price of not more than $40 per MWh to be viable at current aluminium prices. Any smelter project is in a race with Big Tech, which is on the same hunt for energy to power its next-generation artificial intelligence data centres. And tech companies "have no limit on what they are prepared to pay for dependable 24/7 electricity", according to the Aluminum Association's just-released report, opens new tab on rebuilding U.S. supply chain resilience. The Association estimates Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab conceded $115 per MWh in its deal with Constellation Energy (CEG.O), opens new tab to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. Even reactivating moth-balled aluminium lines will be challenging given the 2023 price of power averaged $73.42 per MWh in the four U.S. states hosting smelters with idle capacity, it warned. EGA hasn't yet signed a power deal for its proposed 600,000-ton-per-year smelter in Oklahoma. Final go-ahead is contingent on an agreed "power solution framework based on a special rate offer from the Public Service Company of Oklahoma," according to the Memorandum of Understanding, opens new tab signed by state governor Kevin Stitt. Oklahoma has the advantage of producing almost three times more energy than it consumes, according to the EIA, opens new tab. Around half of the state's electricity generation was sourced from natural gas in 2023, with wind power accounting for another 42%. Indeed, Oklahoma is the third largest wind power state after Texas and Iowa. Harnessing intermittent wind power to run an aluminium smelter, however, would take a massive amount of grid storage capacity, meaning there would likely have to be some gas in the energy mix for any new smelter. That's better than coal but not ideal in an industry which is collectively trying to lower its carbon footprint to produce "green" aluminium. Even assuming EGA can get a viable long-term power deal, the $4 billion project will only pour its first hot metal some time near the end of the decade. By which time, 14 new re-melt facilities will have started up, lifting U.S. demand for recyclable scrap aluminium to 6.5 million tons, according to the Aluminum Association's projections. Recycling requires much less power, typically around 5% of that required to produce virgin metal, and comes at a much lower capital cost. The main constraint on U.S. secondary production growth is a shortage of "scrap". The country has an astonishingly low beverage can recycling rate of just 43% and throws away the equivalent of 800,000 tons of aluminium every year. It also exports huge amounts of end-of-life aluminium scrap. Exports rose by 17% year-on-year to 2.4 million tons in 2024, much of it destined for China, which is increasingly hungry for recyclable raw material. Capturing more recyclable material at home and sending less of it abroad would be a complementary strategy for reducing import dependency of a metal classified as critical by every U.S. government agency. It's also likely to be faster and cheaper than waiting to see if either EGA or Century can win the battle with Big Tech for enough power to build a new primary smelter. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
