LME primary
Global ingotQuoted daily; not the same as extrusion billet.
Prices are bands. A 2024 coil is not a 2026 contract. Labour and certification often dwarf the commodity.
Producers listed are landmarks for orientation, not a ranking or a procurement list.
Cost bands
UBC scrap
Recycling creditOften the cheapest “new” metal in can sheet.
6063 extrusion
ArchitectureDie cost amortised over metres of profile.
Aero plate
PremiumTight residual stress and ultrasonic inspection.
Foundry secondary
Cast alloysHigh-Si remelt with different specs.
Regions
China
Largest primary and semi-fabricated volumes.
Gulf
Gas-powered smelters, export billets.
Nordics / Canada
Hydro-powered primary with lower grid carbon.
Europe
Recycling-heavy, high energy prices, specialty.
US
Can sheet, auto, remaining primary.
Australia / Guinea
Bauxite supply, not always smelting.
Key numbers
~1/3 — the whole point of switchingDensity vs steel
Order-of-magnitude less than primary smeltCan recycled energy
660 °CMelting
Second only to copper among cheap conductorsConductivity
Producers
Chalco
Chinese primary and alumina.
Rio Tinto Aluminium
Pacific and Canada hydro smelters.
Alcoa
US-rooted, global primary and products.
Rusal
Siberian hydro smelting.
Norsk Hydro
Extrusion and recycling in Europe.
Novelis
The can-sheet and auto-sheet recycler to watch.
Ask for the route (primary, scrap, bio) before believing a green label.
Keep exploring
More in Metals
🔩
Steel
The iron–carbon workhorse of buildings, ships, rails and tools — endlessly recast.
Overall 66 ✈️Titanium
High specific strength and chloride-tolerant films — airframes, implants and seawater.
Overall 58 🔶Copper
The first industrial conductor — wiring, heat exchangers, roofs that go green.
Overall 57 🍴Stainless steel
Chromium passive films that keep kitchens, chemical plant and façades from rusting like carbon steel.
Overall 64