Archive > Metal Asia > November 2011

Metal Asia November 2011 Issue

A Complete Metal Magazine

SPECIAL COVERAGE

Secondary and Downstream Aluminium Markets in India
Bauxite reserves coupled with a huge pool of economic manpower gives the Indian aluminium industry a competitive edge compared with other emerging markets. This industry will be among the top three major producers globally by 2015. Currently, India produces over 1.3 Million Metric Tons (MT) of aluminium in comparison to 40 Million MT globally, with a per capita consumption of less than 1.3 Kg, as against per capita consumption of 25 to 30 Kg in U.S./Europe, 15 Kg in Japan, 10 Kg in Taiwan and 3 Kg in China.

COMMENT

Indian Aluminium Industry on a speedy growth lane
The aluminium industry in India stands out as a crucial section of the economic sector in this country. With its vast and developing market stature, the related industry will pave the growth chart of India far ahead in the times to come. Along with the aluminium segment, there are additional sectors such as hefty deposits of high-quality bauxite ore which also shows a sign of growth promise.

NATIONAL TRENDS

• Sterlite Industries Q2 net down

  Sterlite Industries, a unit of Vedanta Resources, has reported a slight decline of one per cent in its consolidated at Rs. 997.78 crore for the quarter ended September 30, mainly due to foreign exchange losses. The company had reported a net profit of Rs. 1,008.03 crore for the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.

• Nalco institutes water study for smelter in Sundargarh

  National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has engaged Lahmeyer International for conducting water availability study for its proposed Greenfield smelter in Sundargarh district.

• CCL’s coal supply to north India increases by 21%

  Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, supplied 21 per cent more coal to power plants in north India between April and September 2011 compared to the same period in the last fiscal.

• Coal India to raise output by 5.5pct in 12th Plan Period

  Coal India (CIL) is not expected to increase its production growth rate much in the 12th Five Year Plan period, which starts from April 2012. It hopes to grow only between 5.3 per cent and 5.5 per cent and make around 720 million tonnes of coal available in the terminal year of the 12th Plan period-2016-17.

• IFGL Refractories Q2 with topline growth, excellent operating margins

  The Board of Directors of IFGL Refractories Ltd. (the Company) has approved following un-audited financial results for three/six months ended on 30th September, 2011.

• India finalizing Economic Cooperation Agreement with ASEAN

  India was finalizing a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with ASEAN, said Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He has also expressed concern over the Eurozone crisis and hoped it will get resolved soon.

INTERNATIONAL TRENDS

• Siemens VAI bags order from Southwire Company

  Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has bagged an order from the Southwire Company, Carrollton, Georgia, U.S.A., for the supply of an aluminium rod rolling mill for Beauty Sun Holdings Ltd.

• Konecranes Plc, Finland, acquires WMI Cranes Limited in India

  Konecranes, world-leading group of Lifting BusinessesTM, has acquired 100% stake in WMI Cranes limited in India from the Vazirani family based in Mumbai. WMI Cranes Limited is one of the oldest and most reputed crane manufacturers in India having an installation base of over 4,000 cranes. After the acquisition, WMI Cranes has been renamed WMI Konecranes India Ltd.

• Rio Tinto commits $1.3bn to Guinea's Simandou iron ore project

  Rio Tinto, the leading international mining group, has committed an additional US$1.3 billion to the development of the Simandou iron ore field project in Guinea.

• ASAS reduces operating costs with new homogenizing plant

  The Turkish manufacturer Asas Aluminyum Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (ASAS) has ordered a continuous homogenizing plant from Austria’s Hertwich Engineering, a part of the Business Area of SMS Meer.

• Alcoa approves next phase of Quebec plan

  Alcoa has approved the next phase of a 5-year $2.1billion investment plan for its Baie-Comeau, Deschambault and Becancour smelters in Quebec, Canada.

IN FOCUS

• Coal Blend Optimization with Approved Methods for Prediction of Coke Quality

  Blast furnace operators demand coke with high and consistent CSR values in order to operate their large blast furnaces at an economic optimum of high coal or oil injection and low coke rate. Coke producers have to meet these coke quality demands in spite of varying coal properties. A credible forecast on coke quality can be done with calculation methods based on coal and consequently coal blend characteristics. Semi-technical carbonization tests are a necessary precondition to optimize the blend composition and to identify potential disruption in operation with improper coals.

COMPANY NEWS

Hitachi Concludes Formation of Alliance with Hi-Rel Electronics, India

Hitachi, Ltd. (President: Mr. Hiroaki Nakanishi, NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501, “Hitachi”) and Hi-Rel Electronics Pvt. Ltd. (Managing Director: Mr. Piyush Shah, “Hi-Rel”) announced the closing of a transaction under which Hitachi has made a majority equity investment in Hi-Rel, in a move to strengthen Hitachi’s and Hi-Rel’s power electronics business in India. Hi-Rel will subsequently be renamed Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics Pvt. Ltd. from October 2011 onwards.

COMPANY REPORT

Hindalco reported better performance for Q2 FY11-12

Aditya Birla Group Company, Hindalco Industries Limited’s performance for the second quarter has been significantly better than that of the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

RAW MATERIALS

Manganese Nodules Residue: Potential Raw Material for Fesimn Production

The manganese nodule residue, generated in reduction roast ammonia leaching process has emerged as potential secondary raw material for production of ferrosilicomanagese. In the present paper, the smelting studies of low manganese containing leached manganese nodules residue blended with high grade Mn ore has been carried out in electric arc furnace for ferrosilicomanganese production. The optimum charge mix has been derived to produce the standard grade alloy as per BIS specifications. The residue to ore blending ratio of 1:0.6 with 18% quartz addition at basicity 0.2 has been found to yield the standard grade ferrosilicomanganese alloy with about 77% manganese recovery.

ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY

Ecl™ & Primary Aluminium Business in India: A Strong, Successful and Sustainable Relationship for 30 Years

The primary aluminium business in India and ECL™ have entertained almost 30 years of continuous & sustainable business relationship: all major players that have built the reputation and success of this business - Nalco, Hindalco, Vedanta & Balco - are key customers of ECL™, whatever the technology used. ECL™ offers solutions for all sectors of the aluminium smelter: reduction, carbon and metal sectors. Since 1947, ECL has gained an unrivalled knowhow and expertise which is the insurance of an adapted and dependable equipment. However, ECL™ is constantly investing for the future, ECL™ is continuously innovating.

AUTOMATIVE LUBRICATION

Thermal Spray - Value Addition for Automotive Components

Introduction of LPG (Liberalization, Privatization & Globalization) in 1991, changed the whole scenario of Indian corporates and their workings. Manufacturing firms which earlier, were hunting for only customers, started hunt for quality improvements & new process developments in their products. Entry of global players with advanced technologies created a bottleneck competition which subsequently created a high pressure on manufacturing firms to improve the quality of their products. Automotive is one of the industry which has gone through most vigorous developments under a concrete competition scenario.

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Prediction of Mechanical Properties and Lifetime of Thin-walled Aluminium Castings†

In recent years, thin-walled light-weight components are gaining increasing importance in automotive industry. Weight reduction is now a significant factor in design of new vehicles [1]. The application of aluminium alloys in the automotive industry allows to decrease the weight of automobile and achieve lower fuel consumption and CO2 emission. But, it is important to considerthat by reducing the weight of automotive component, its mechanical properties should remain on sufficient level.

Stollberg introduces MouldScreen and new Flux Feeder

With MouldScreen, the Continuous Casting Fluxes Division of the S&B Group is introducing a software programme for modelling the properties of the flux film in the continuous casting mould. The software identifies and visualizes critical conditions in the mould that may lead to cracking, breakouts and other quality problems and enables countermeasures to be taken at an early stage.

TRADE FAIRS / EXHIBITIONS

INCAL 2011- 6th International Conference & Exhibition on Aluminium at Hyderabad

INCAL 2011, the sixth International Conference & Exhibition on Aluminium, organized by the Aluminium Association of India (AAI), the apex body of entire Aluminium Industries in the country, will be held from December 6 to 8 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) in Hyderabad, India.