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Aluminium/Bauxite

Kitimat has seen it all – by Nancy Macdonald (Globe and Mail – April 25, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In this northern B.C. port town, voters used to booms and busts are now caught between both at once

Kitimat’s construction boom is tapering off. The Help Wanted signs that used to decorate businesses are coming down. And hotel rooms in the northern B.C. port city are no longer packed with construction workers, as the process of building a new, $18-billion gas terminal winds down at the harbour.

But judging by the abundance of $80,000 pickup trucks, the local economy is still going gangbusters. Residents here have learned to be cautiously optimistic in the face of economic threat, and also restrained in their enthusiasm when things are looking up. Right now, they’re having to do both at the same time.

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Trump’s steel, aluminum tariff impacts start to build 1 month in – by Ian Bickis (Canadian Press/Global News – April 21, 2025)

https://globalnews.ca/

The costs and chaos being caused by metal tariffs are starting to build up after a month in effect, and there’s little hope they’ll be removed in the foreseeable future. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum on March 12, raising significant concerns for a sector that exported around $35 billion of metal to the U.S. last year.

It’s still not clear how much higher the tariffs will push consumer prices and translate into reduced demand, but industry insiders say the risks are building. The aluminum tariffs alone add about $3,000 to the cost of an F150 truck, Aluminum Association of Canada CEO Jean Simard said. Add in the steel tariffs, and auto tariffs, and it means about $12,000 more in input costs.

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Quebec’s aluminum product producers are feeling the sting of Trump’s tariffs – by Nicolas Van Praet (Globe and Mail – March 22, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

There are roughly 1,700 companies shaping aluminum into components or finished products in Quebec, cranking out everything you can think of with the malleable metal – from ambulance doors to window frames. Half of them are based in the greater Montreal area. And all of them have one major problem at the moment: Donald Trump.

Industry groups have been warning for weeks of the pain to come from the U.S. President’s 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, which came into effect March 12. But on the factory floors of Quebec’s aluminum-product makers, and in the hallways and offices of manufacturers where net profit margins are typically in the single digits and payrolls rarely tally more than 200 employees, those warnings have become reality.

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Quebec aluminum towns aren’t feeling the sting of 25 per cent U.S. tariffs – by Joe Bongiorno (The Canadian Press – March 17, 2025)

https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/

MONTREAL – Mayors of Quebec aluminum towns say they are confident their regions can withstand the 25 per cent tariffs imposed on the metal by U.S. President Donald Trump, with many saying it’s business as usual.

Layoffs aren’t expected at Aluminerie Alouette in Sept-Îles, Que., a major aluminum producer with some 950 employees, says the town’s mayor, Denis Miousse. The company, which describes itself as the biggest aluminum smelter on the continent, can find new export markets if demand weakens in the U.S., he said.

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Leonardo DiCaprio criticises Australian government for approving WA mine expansion – by Bridget McArthur (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – March 12, 2025)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/

Leonardo DiCaprio has thrown his support behind West Australian activists who are angry at the federal government for green-lighting a mine expansion in an area home to endangered species.

In February Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek gave approval to South32 to clear up to 3,855 hectares of native vegetation in WA’s Northern Jarrah Forests as part of a mine expansion near the town of Boddington.

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Trump threatens to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum after Ontario electricity surcharge – by Antoine Trépanier and Stephanie Taylor (National Post – March 11, 2025)

https://nationalpost.com/

The latest outburst from the American president appears to have been triggered by tariffs imposed by Ontario Premier Doug Ford

OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will impose a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, up from his previous 25 per cent threat, starting on Wednesday. If Canada does not reverse its retaliation and “immediately” remove its dairy tariffs, he said he will “significantly” increase tariffs on cars coming from Canada to the United States on April 2.

“(That would) permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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Tariff battle set to escalate this week with U.S. levies on Canadian steel and aluminum – by Clare O’Hara (Globe and Mail – March 10, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The U.S. says 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum are still set to take effect on Wednesday, a move that would escalate the trade war between the two countries that President Donald Trump launched last week.

Mr. Trump initiated 25-per-cent tariffs on all Canadian goods last Tuesday, with energy and critical minerals facing a 10-per-cent tariff. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quickly retaliated with 25-per-cent tariffs on $30-billion worth of imported goods from the U.S., rising to $155-billion if the U.S. levies aren’t lifted.

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The country that helped build Quebec’s aluminum industry now threatens its survival – by Frédérik-Xavier D. Plante (Globe and Mail – February 18, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Arvida aluminum bridge, completed in 1950 as the first of its kind anywhere, stands as a tribute to a symbiotic relationship. Crossing a branch of the Saguenay River, its elegant arch faces the Shipshaw II Power Station.

This is no coincidence, says Lucie Morisset, Canada Research Chair in Urban Heritage, given the link between the aluminum industry and the abundant hydroelectric power in Quebec. “It’s not the labour that determines the production costs of aluminum, it’s not even the bauxite,” she said, referring to the material from which aluminum is extracted. “It’s the energy costs to produce it.”

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In Saguenay, Canada’s aluminum valley, anxiety over planned U.S. tariffs is palpable – by Frédérik-Xavier D. Plante (Globe and Mail – February 12, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Jean-Marc Crevier, a municipal councillor in Saguenay, Que., can feel his constituents’ anxiety. Mr. Crevier’s district encompasses Rio Tinto’s sprawling, century-old Arvida aluminum smelter. It is one of four such facilities – in addition to one refinery – in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, which produces a third of all Canadian aluminum thanks to abundant, cheap hydroelectric power.

In Saguenay, U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, starting on March 12, is the talk of the town. “When I go to the grocery store, I take almost twice the time just talking with my people,” Mr. Crevier said in an interview. “Everyone talks about it.”

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Trump slaps 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports ‘without exceptions’ – by Darren Major and Catharine Tunney (CBC News Politics – February 10, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/

President said ‘I don’t mind,’ when asked about countries retaliating

U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on recent threats Monday evening and signed orders imposing 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports — including from Canada.

The tariffs are scheduled to take effect March 12. This guarantees a frantic few weeks as Canada and other countries scramble to be exempted from a series of trade penalties threatened by Trump — including the economy-wide tariffs he has paused but is still threatening to reimpose across North America.

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Trump promises 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports — including from Canada – by Benjamin Lopez Steven (CBC News Politics – February 09, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/

Ontario, Quebec premiers criticize U.S. president for creating economic uncertainty

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will announce on Monday that the United States will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada and Mexico — a move that prompted sharp criticism from some provincial premiers.

“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25 per cent tariff,” he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One as he flew from Florida to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. When asked about aluminum, he responded, “aluminum, too” will be subject to the trade penalties.

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US buyers face higher costs if Trump pursues copper, aluminum tariffs – by Melanie Burton, Yuka Obayashi, Neha Arora, Ernest Scheyder, Polina Devitt and Eric Onstad(Reuters – January 28, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on US copper and aluminum imports will result in higher costs for local consumers because of a shortfall in domestic production, analysts and industry participants said on Tuesday.

In a speech on Monday, Trump said he would impose tariffs on aluminum and copper – metals needed to produce US military hardware – as well as steel, to entice producers to make them in the United States.

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Rising Chinese aluminium output pressures alumina supply – by Andy Home (Reuters – July 1, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) – China’s production of primary aluminium is closing in on last year’s record highs as previously idled capacity ramps up in Yunnan province. The country increased production by 5% year-on-year to 3.65 million metric tons in May, according to the latest estimate from the International Aluminium Institute.

National output is now running close to an annualised 43.0 million tons, within touching distance of the record highs seen in September and October last year.

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Can Kentucky hatch a clean energy plan to incubate its aluminum boom? – by Annie Sartor (Energy News Network – June 25, 2024)

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A lack of affordable renewable energy jeopardizes a clean aluminum facility slated for Kentucky, which the U.S. needs to scale up clean energy manufacturing.

The clean energy revolution faces a critical bottleneck: a paradox with aluminum. This lightweight metal forms the backbone of electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels, but its production demands substantial clean energy capacity. In order to reduce our overreliance on carbon intensive imports, we need to establish a clean domestic supply chain.

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Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm may have to change strategy as company enters new round of upheaval – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – June 8, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Extrovert or introvert, buyer or builder, opportunistic or judicious. These are the existential questions that Rio Tinto must answer for itself as the global mining industry enters a new round of upheaval, driven by the lunge for metals critical to a low-carbon future. Which way will Rio, a primarily iron ore and aluminum producer, go?

No one knows, and there are enormous risks in both playing the mergers and acquisitions game and avoiding it. Rio knows it needs more copper – it is ranked a lowly eighth in terms of production. At the same time, its reputation for capital discipline and conservative thinking might make it shy away from bidding wars and hostile deals, perhaps even big mergers and acquisitions of the friendly variety.

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