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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The London Metal Exchange’s (LME) warning shot to those looking to game the new sanctions on Russian aluminum appears to have worked, for now at least. Traders swooped on the LME’s stocks of Russian brand aluminum after the US and UK governments banned exchanges from taking delivery of Russian metal produced after April 12.
Over half of registered tonnage was cancelled over the ensuing week, destined for a creative run-around that would see it re-warranted under more restrictive trading conditions and locked into a lucrative rent-sharing warehouse deal.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Since Rio Tinto bought Canada’s Alcan in 2007, the Anglo-Australian mining giant has been good at making big promises, but slow to fulfill them. This is especially proving to be the case with its plan to produce zero-carbon aluminum.
The Quebec aluminum operations that Alcan built up over more than 80 years until its US$40-billion takeover by Rio Tinto remain among the world’s most profitable. Rio’s eight wholly and jointly owned smelters in the province mostly rely on cheap and emissions-free hydroelectric power from dams that Alcan itself built, providing a competitive and environmental advantage over U.S., Chinese and Russian rivals that use coal-based electricity.
https://missouriindependent.com/
The Magnitude 7 Metals plant employed more than 400 workers in Marston.
One of the nation’s last primary aluminum smelters, which employs more than 400 workers in the Missouri Bootheel, will reportedly close its doors.
The Magnitude 7 Metals plant, in the southeast Missouri town of Marston, announced Wednesday it would curtail operations, according to Industrious Labs, an industry analysis group. In a press release, Industrious Labs said the plant represents about one-fifth of the nation’s aluminum production.
https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/
ALUMINIUM producer Alcoa will fully curtail production at its 2.2 t/y alumina refinery in the Kwinana Industrial Area in Western Austria (WA) this year, after 60 years of operation. Matt Reed, chief operations officer and executive VP at Alcoa, said the decision was based on a variety of factors including age, scale, operating costs, current bauxite grades, and current market conditions.
It will see employees at the site phased down from around 800 at the start of 2024 to 250 by Q3, when all alumina production will cease. Alcoa said “certain processes” will continue until about Q3 of 2025, when the number of employees at the site will be further reduced to 50.
