Apple buys first-ever carbon-free aluminum from Alcoa-Rio Tinto venture

Most aluminium sellers have run into difficulties during the current negotiating season.

Vedanta Ltd. reported a 61% jump in quarterly profit as a one-time tax benefit countered lower metal prices and slowing demand.

Operations at the mine are now expected to be underway by early December and it will eventually produce 12 million tonnes of bauxite a year.

The Southeast Asian country was once the biggest bauxite supplier to top aluminium producer China.

The world's largest producer of rolled aluminium products expects demand to also be underpinned by a trend towards more electrically powered cars.

Rio, which could become the world's top iron ore producer this year, was beset by weather and operational issues in the first quarter which caused it to cut its annual guidance.

Alcoa has owned the property since the 1950s and had a plant there that was shut down in 2008.

The lightweight metal used in cars, airplanes and drinks cans is touted as a green alternative, yet it’s the most carbon-intensive industrial metal to produce.

It’s a dramatic shift from a year ago, when just about everyone in the industry was bullish on the metal used in pipes and wires.