The role of magnesium and other alloying elements in aluminium alloy production and recycling • Which series of alloys contain magnesium and what are the main applications? • Examining the supply-demand fundamentals of magnesium – what implications for procurement by aluminium companies? • What other raw materials flagged as "critical" are key to alloy performance and quality? • What issues do these pose for aluminium recycling loops and what are the main environmental considerations? • How does recycling of these alloying elements contribute to resource conservation and efficiency? Presentation given at the 24th Aluminium Recycling Conference in Bratislava 21-23 November 2016 organised by Metal Bulletin.

1. Dr.
Ing.
Mar*n
Tauber
Metal
Bulle*n’s
24th
Interna*onal
Al
Recycled
Alumnium
Conference,
Slovakia
21-­‐23.11.2016

2. Content
ü
Which
series
of
alloys
contain
magnesium
and
what
are
the
main
applica*ons?
è
Almost
all
Al
alloys
contain
Mg
and
demand
growing
ü
Examining
the
supply-­‐demand
fundamentals
of
magnesium
–
what
implica*ons
for
procurement
by
aluminium
companies?
è
Sustainable
sourcing
as
chance
for
Mg
ü
What
other
raw
materials
flagged
as
“cri*cal”
are
key
to
alloy
performance
and
quality?
è
Strategic
&
cri*cal
raw
materials;
conflict
minerals
ü
What
issues
do
these
pose
for
aluminium
recycling
loops
and
what
are
the
main
environmental
considera*ons?
è
High
recycling
rates
thanks
to
efficient
Al
set-­‐up
ü How
does
recycling
of
these
alloying
elements
contribute
to
resource
conserva*on
and
efficiency?
è
Legal
frame
works
and
process
innova*on

3. What
are
strategic
or
cri*cal
materials?
EU
cri*cal
raw
materials
are
those
raw
materials,
which
are
economically
and
strategically
important
for
the
European
economy
but
have
a
higher
risk
of
supply
interrup*on.
Candidate
(inves*gated)
materials
These
materials
represent
a
diverse
group,
including
materials
that
are
mined
or
cul*vated
as
well
as
some
refined
materials
that
are
considered
highly
important
to
downstream
sectors.
Conflict
Minerals
EU
poli*cal
aims
for
EU
companies
to
source
*n,
tantalum,
tungsten
and
gold
responsibly.
These
minerals
are
typically
used
in
everyday
products
such
as
mobile
phones,
cars
and
jewellery.

4. What
are
cri*cal
raw
materials?
The
(20)
2014
EU
listed
CRMs
out
of
(89)
different
substances
(inves*gated)

5. What
are
conflict
minerals?
The
(4)
conflict
minerals;
Tungsten
also
being
a
CRM

6. What
are
main
alloying
elements
to
Al?
Currently,
over
400
wrought
and
over
200
cas*ng
alloys
are
registered

7. Registered
alloying
elements
for
Al
Alloying
(Mg
content)
1xxx
Aluminium
99.00%
or
greater
2xxx
Copper
2–6%
(0.3-­‐1.6%)
3xxx
Manganese
0.6-­‐1.5%
(0-­‐1%)
4xxx
Silicon
7-­‐13%
(0.3-­‐1.6%)
5xxx
Magnesium
1-­‐6%
(1-­‐6%)
6xxx
Magnesium
&
Silicon
1
&
0.6%
(0.6-­‐1%)
7xxx
Zinc
4-­‐8%
(1.2-­‐2.5%)
8xxx
Other
elements

8. Mg
alloying
use
in
different
Al
sectors?
ü Primary
aluminium
smelters:
è
Cas*ng
billets,
rolling
slab,
foundry
alloys
ü Rolling
mills:
è
Mg
as
alloying
agent
ü Remelt
billet
makers
and
extruders:
è
Secondary
Mg
mainly
from
scrap
ü Secondary
aluminium
smelters:
è
Die-­‐cast/foundry
alloys
mainly
from
scrap
(Al
&
Mg)

9. 5
principles
Main
Mg
alloying
use
per
Al
alloy

10. PRC
dominant
in
primary
Mg
produc*on
Source:
China
Nonferrous
Metals
Industry
Associa*on
-­‐
The
Nonferrous
Metals
Society
of
China
2016/Kyoto

11. PRC
dominant
in
primary
Al
produc*on
China
has
always
pay
alen*on
to
the
magnesium
alloys
applica*on
in
the
automobile
industry.
the
instrument
panel,
front
and
rear
subframe,
wheels,
steering
bracket
and
other
parts
have
been
developed
in
the
plamorm
of
a
independent
research
and
developed
hydrogen
fuel
car.
The
total
amount
of
Source:
China
Nonferrous
Metals
Industry
Associa*on
-­‐
The
Nonferrous
Metals
Society
of
China
2016/Kyoto

12. Mg
supply/demand
fundamentals
ü
Significant
long-­‐term
over-­‐capacity
in
China:
è
Global
market
of
850
kto
vs.
installed
over-­‐capacity
of
1,8
mio
mt
ü Regional
market
protec*on:
è
An*-­‐dumping
rules
installed
in
US
and
Brazil
ü Environmental
concerns:
è
Higher
CO2
emipng
produc*on
process
in
China;
enforcement
lately
ü Main
price
fundamentals
in
China
not
within
the
Mg
industry:
è
High
dependent
on
FeSi
(grade
75%),
steel
and
coal
industry
ü No
trading
regula*on:
è
Market
volume
too
small
for
e.g.
LME
lis*ng
ü Small
markets
&
non-­‐favourite
history:
è
Lightweight
mix
component;
market
development
and
high
CAPEX
caused
many
primary
projects
to
fail

13. Mg
demand
&
industry
mix
Source:
C&M
at
IMA
2016/
Rome

14. Main
message
for
the
Aluminium
industry
• Alloying
elements
are
essen*al
for
reaching
compe**ve
proper*es,
such
as
strength,
corrosion
resistance
and
processing
parameters
• However,
CRM
policy
is
supposed
to
secure
supply,
subs*tu*on
efforts
can
significantly
weaken
the
Al
industry
• Primary
alloying
elements
such
as
Mg
and
Si
will
most
probably
remain
on
the
EU
CRM
list,
and
most
of
the
common
alloying
elements
are
listed
• Alloying
elements
require
equal
considera*on
when
it
comes
to
sustainable
sourcing
and
resource
efficiency
• Dependency
on
pre
&
post
consumer
recycling
processes

15. Global
&
Corporate
repor*ng
interface

16. Mandatory
repor*ng
instrument
“Repor*ng
sustainability
makes
it
more
valuable.
One
of
the
main
corporate
benefits
is
reputa*onal,
another
is
the
requirements
of
the
supply
chain.
Repor*ng
is
an
integral
part
of
sustainability.
Repor*ng
mechanisms
such
as
the
GRI
reinforce
this.”
“Global
investors
will
only
invest
in
companies
in
this
part
of
the
world
if
they
see
that
companies
are
repor*ng
honestly.”

17. Shis
from
shareholders
to
stakeholders
ü In
2014,
the
European
Parliament
passed
a
new
law
will
require
its
biggest
companies
to
include
sustainability
factors
as
part
of
their
annual
financial
reports
ü Today,
2.500
companies
voluntarily
produce
sustainability
reports;
that
will
rise
to
nearly
7.000
by
2017,
when
the
law
goes
into
effect
ü Addressing
their
supply
chains
is
the
next
big
task

18. From
voluntarily
to
mandatory
–
a
chance
for
profiling
of
alloying
elements?
ü OEMs
and
Tiers
need
to
talk
more
about
their
raw
material
procurement
strategies
ü Sustainability
is
already
used
on
a
large
scale
for
all
stakeholder
communica*on
ü Excellent
examples
from
Aluminium
and
Automo*ve
companies
ü Major
alloying
elements
must
claim
its
value
for
sustainable
content,
in
all
major
applica*ons
and
markets

19. The
Magnesium
Metal
value
chain
Source:
VW
at
IMA
2013/Xian

20. Corporate
Aluminium
Reports
Text
analysis
based
on
LingRep
technology
by
econob/Austria

21. Corporate
Aluminium
Reports
Text
analysis
based
on
LingRep
technology
by
econob/Austria

22. Corporate
Automo*ve
Reports
Text
analysis
based
on
LingRep
technology
by
econob/Austria

23. Corporate
Automo*ve
Reports
Text
analysis
based
on
LingRep
technology
by
econob/Austria

24. Concepts
&
Tools:
Carbon
Impact
Factor
ü CIF
enables
OEMs
to
demonstrate
and
communicate
their
efforts
to
reduce
carbon
intensity
(risk)
within
their
supply
chain
ü Osen
no
traceability
of
raw
material
inputs
beyond
the
primary
processing
point
ü As
a
result,
different
raw
material
data
are
aggregated
or
compounded
Source:
Introducing
the
The
Carbon
Impact
Factor/2015

25. Sustainability
–
enable
high
volume
growth?
ü Magnesium
industry
need
to
invest
into
global
spread
raw
material/semi-­‐fabricated
material
supply
base
ü Magnesium
stakeholders
need
to
engage
into
global
policy
process
and
inform
&
promote
Magnesium
ü Magnesium
needs
to
par*cipate
in
“own”
Circular
Economy
best
prac*ces
projects,
and
close
informa*on
gaps
on
e.g.
process
recycling
&
ELV
ü Informa*on
of
Magnesium
LCA
must
be
up-­‐dated
and
easy
accessible
for
different
value-­‐chains
and
stakeholders
to
enable
green
procurement
strategies
ü Magnesium
must
show
its
“sustainable
value”
in
the
Aluminium
industry
ü Aluminium
needs
to
name
Magnesium
in
their
overall/sustainable
communica*on

26. EU
policy
and
(cri*cal)
raw
materials

27. Circular
Economy
needs
(also)
raw
materials

28. LCA
example
–
Magnesium
sourcing
Source:
LCA
study
DLR
2015
for
ESAN
Magnesium/Turkey

29. ELV
vehicles
recycling
flows
Source:
Automo*ve
aluminum
recycling
at
end
of
life:
a
grave-­‐to-­‐gate
analysis/WPI
2016

30. ELV
vehicles
recycling
flows
Source:
Automo*ve
aluminum
recycling
at
end
of
life:
a
grave-­‐to-­‐gate
analysis/WPI
2016

31. Example
embedded
recycling
flows
–
Light
gauge
frac*on
ü
Fragmented
non-­‐ferrous
metal
mixture
“ZORBA”
typically
65%
Al
è
contains
copper,
lead,
magnesium,
stainless
steel,
nickel,
*n
and
zinc
ü Floated,
fragmented
scrap
stream
“TWITCH”
typically
90-­‐98%
Al
è
contains
no
more
than
1%
free
zinc,
1%
free
magnesium,
1%
of
free
iron,
less
than
2%
non-­‐metallic
and
1%
free
rubber
or
plas*c
ü Fragmented
auto
scrap
“TWEAK”
è
contains
max.
4%
free
zinc,
1%
free
magnesium,
1,5%
of
analy*cal
iron
and
no
more
than
a
total
5%
non-­‐metallic.
Source:
Automo*ve
aluminum
recycling
at
end
of
life:
a
grave-­‐to-­‐gate
analysis/WPI
2016

32. ü Growing
markets
-­‐
Alloying
elements,
such
as
magnesium,
manganese,
silicon,
zinc
and
copper
play
a
vital
role
in
proper*es
of
Al
alloys.
Growing
applica*ons
for
Mg,
like
automo*ve
sheet
and
can
stock
contain
significant
quan**es
for
their
own
markets
and
are
high
important
for
its
supply/
demand
development.
ü Overall
LCA
-­‐
Alloying
elements
should
be
part
of
individual
sustainable
procurement
strategies,
and
also
CO2
saving
on
alloy
element
sourcing
should
be
featured.
ü Cri*cal
materials
–
Alloying
elements
must
play
an
integrated
role
in
mandatory
and
green
procurement.
ü End
of
life
scrap
–
Alloying
elements
material
flow
(Material
Flow
Analysis,
Circular
Economy)
are
an
integrated
part
of
the
e.g.
Aluminium
recycling
loops.
Conclusions

33. Links
&
info
• EU
CRM
list
2014:
hlps://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-­‐materials/specific-­‐interest/cri*cal_en
• Interna*onal
Magnesium
Associa*on
(IMA):
hlp://www.intlmag.org/default.asp?
• Minor
Metal
Trade
Associa*on
(MMTA):
hlp://www.mmta.co.uk
• Associa*on
of
Euro
Ferro-­‐Alloys
producers
(Euro
Alliages):
hlp://www.euroalliages.com
• Cri*cal
Raw
Material
(CRM)
Alliance
• Rue
de
l’Industrie
4
• B-­‐1000
Brussels
• Tel:
+32
(0)2
213
74
20
• Email:
oh@crmalliance.org
• hlp://cri*calrawmaterials.org