Aluminium Industry

Beijing's move may further boost aluminium prices as exports from the country are set to decline starting December

Metal and mining major Vedanta on Friday announced an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in Odisha to set up an alumina refinery and an aluminium plant in the state. The Anil Agarwal-led group has already invested Rs 1 lakh crore across assets in the state. The new investment will be in setting up a 6 million tonne per annum (MTPA) alumina refinery and a 3MTPA green aluminium plant, a statement from Vedanta said. It will create 2 lakh jobs in the state and help Odisha achieve its goal of becoming a USD 500 billion economy by 2030. Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal met Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi earlier during the day in the financial capital. Majhi is in Mumbai for a roadshow to be held on Saturday, ahead of an investor summit in Odisha in January 2025. Commenting on the new investment commitment, Agarwal said Odisha has always played an important role in Vedanta's growth and affirmed the company's commitment to drive large-scale industrialisation in the state. The new inves

The government on Wednesday eased import norms for raw and calcined pet coke and permitted the inbound shipments to cater entirely to the domestic needs of aluminium and other industries. Earlier, it was allowed only for the aluminium industry. "Import of RPC (raw pet coke) and CPC (calcined pet coke) shall be permitted to cater entirely to the domestic needs of aluminium industry and other industries," Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification. Pet coke is used for fuel purposes. In a separate notification, it said that Odisha's forest, environment and climate change department has been allowed additional time of 12 months for export of red sanders heart wood in log form. This wood is an endangered species of flora protected under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna. Red sanders is found mainly in the Seshachalam hill ranges spread across Kadapa, Chittoor and Kurnool in the Rayalaseema region and parts of Nellor

The aluminium sector in India would need an additional capital expenditure (capex) of about Rs 2.2 lakh crore to attain net-zero carbon emissions, an independent study on Tuesday said. The study released by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said that green energy can abate 49 per cent of the total emissions from the industry. A complete transition to renewable is not feasible at the moment as it is intermittent in nature, and backup will always be necessary in case of grid failure, it said. Net-zero aluminium could be 61 per cent more expensive, the study said, adding that decarbonising this industry would also lead to a yearly increase of Rs 26,049 crore in additional operating expenditure, as per the study. Although the country's per capita aluminium consumption is low at 2.5 kg (compared to the world average of 11 kg), the industry emitted nearly 77 million tonnes of CO2 in 2019-20, it said. Electricity consumption by plants accounted for 80 per cent of the to

Vedanta Aluminium on Wednesday said it has expanded its annual alumina refining capacity to 3.5 million tonnes at its Lanjigarh unit in Odisha. The alumina refining capacity earlier was 2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), the company said in a statement. It plans to further increase alumina refining capacity to 5 MTPA, besides increasing aluminium production capacity to 3 MTPA from 2.37 MTPA at present, the Vedanta Group company said. Vedanta Aluminium CEO John Slaven said: "We expanded the capacity, which strengthens our raw material security and reduces costs for our Jharsuguda and BALCO aluminium smelters. It is a significant step towards 100 per cent vertical integration and strongly positions us for sustainable growth within the global aluminium market".

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National Aluminium Company Ltd on Tuesday reported almost two-fold rise in consolidated profit to Rs 470.61 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2023. The company had posted a consolidated profit of Rs 256.32 crore in the October-December quarter of FY2022-23, Nalco said in a filing to BSE. Total income during the quarter under review rose to Rs 3,397.87 crore from Rs 3,357.71 crore in the year-ago period. The company's board has approved the second interim dividend of Rs 2 per share on the paid-up equity share capital of Rs 918.32 crore for the current fiscal. National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) is a Navratna PSU. It is one of the largest integrated bauxite-alumina-aluminium-power complex in the country.

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The South American country hopes to have awarded a concession for bauxite - the world's main source of aluminum - by this time next year, after decades of attempts to develop the ore

Expressing serious concerns over the European Union's move to impose carbon tax on imports from certain sectors like steel, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday assured the domestic industry that India will not accept such unfair taxes and will fight to get a fair deal for producers and exporters. He said India has already flagged its concerns over the carbon tax with the European Union (EU) and in the WTO (World Trade Organization). The CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) or carbon tax (a kind of import duty) will come into effect from January 1, 2026, but from October 1 this year, domestic companies from seven carbon-intensive sectors, including steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium and hydrocarbon products, will have to share data with regard to carbon emissions with the EU. "I will assure you that we are extremely concerned about CBAM...We are taking it up with the WTO very very seriously. We shall try to work and fight to get a fair deal for the Indian ..

India is already the world's second biggest aluminium producer and third biggest consumer, with demand set to double over the next decade, Nilesh Koul, an executive with Hindalco Industries

India and the US are in the final stages of setting up a joint monitoring mechanism to enable domestic exports of certain steel and aluminium products to America without paying extra duties, an official said. Indian exports of these products attract additional duties in the US as Washington, in 2018, imposed a 25 per cent import duty on steel products and 10 per cent on certain aluminium products on grounds of national security. In retaliation, India in June 2019 imposed additional customs duties on 28 American products. During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, the two countries decided to remove trade irritants and as part of that both sides agreed to end six trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). They have mutually resolved those six disputes and India has decided to remove additional duties on eight US products, including chickpeas, lentils and apples, which were imposed in 2019. The US, on its part, has agreed to provide greater market access to

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON - India is in talks with the United States to seek an exemption on steel and aluminum tariffs that were imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, while offering withdrawal of some retaliatory tariffs, three Indian sources told Reuters.

Mining major Vedanta Ltd on Monday said its aluminium and high refined metal production touched record levels in the last financial year. In a regulatory filing, the company said it posted "highest ever" aluminium production at 22.91 lakh tonnes during 2022-23, marginally up from 22.68 lakh tonnes in the preceding fiscal. Its high refined metal production rose 7 per cent to 10.32 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal. The company had produced 9.67 lakh tonnes of saleable metals, which include refined zinc, refined lead and silver integrated, in 2021-22. The company termed the refined metal production as "historic high" in the last financial year. The production of zinc from international business rose 22 per cent year-on-year to 2.73 lakh tonnes. In the oil & gas business, the company's average gross operated production across assets was at 1,42,615 boepd (barrels of oil equivalent per day). "Production from the Rajasthan block was at 1,19,888 boepd and from the offshore assets was at a

Domestic aluminium players would need a substantial increase in their renewable energy or low carbon-intensive power sources to meet their ambitious targets of 25 per cent reduction in carbon emissions in the next five-seven years and achieve net-zero status by 2050, ICRA said on Monday. "Domestic aluminium manufacturers have the highest carbon intensity of nearly 17-20t CO2e/tonne of aluminium, owing to the significant use of coal in generating captive power," ICRA said. According to an ICRA note on the primary aluminium industry, this could entail significant capital investments of up to USD 5 billion by 2030 and USD 20 billion by 2050, depending on the renewable energy (RE) mix used. However, instead of doing an upfront capex, entities may choose to sign power purchase agreements to secure RE power. Nonetheless, their cost of metal production is expected to rise significantly. The carbon intensity of Chinese aluminium producers also remains high due to increased coal usage. ...

Industry body Assocham has sought reduction in basic customs duty and correction of inverted duty structure on critical raw materials for the aluminium industry as high import duties is a huge disadvantage for the sector heavily dependent on imported raw materials. In its pre-Budget memorandum 2023-34, Assocham said high import duty on raw materials results in Indian finished goods getting costlier and uncompetitive in international markets, rendering negative protection against cheaper imports of finished products, and discourages domestic value addition within the country. "The average production cost of Indian aluminium producers is amongst highest in the world, majorly due to high incidence of unrebated Central & State taxes and duties on inputs/ raw materials accounting for 18-20 per cent of aluminium production costs," it said. In a bid to improve the cost structure of the Indian aluminium industry and enhance competitiveness, the basic customs duty on critical raw ...

A dispute panel of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled that the US decision to impose customs duties on certain steel and aluminium products is inconsistent with the global trade norms. This ruling was given in the cases brought by China, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey against these duties. The WTO report assumes significance for India also, as the country in 2018 too had approached the Geneva-based WTO against the US move to impose these duties. According to sources here, this ruling will help strengthen the Indian case too. However, the sources said that India is inclined to resolve the dispute with the US amicably and on mutually agreed terms. India had earlier stated that the imposition of high import duties by the US has impacted exports of these products by Indian businesses. India too has alleged that the US move is also not in compliance with global trade norms. In 2018, the US imposed 25 per cent and 10 per cent import duties on certain steel and aluminium produ

Hindalco's subsidiary Novelis as well as the aluminium division of Vedanta have trimmed guidance by 30-40 per cent for the year

The Biden administration is considering options including sanctions on Russia's top producer of aluminium as the White House looks to punish Moscow for its military escalations in Ukraine

Margin recovery expected in the second half of FY23