Metals investors globally were cheered this week by good news from Aluminum Corp. of China (A.K.A. Chalco).

The aluminum giant swung back into profitability for the first time in a year during the first quarter. Chalco enjoyed net income of 627 million yuan ($92 million) for the past quarter, as compared with a loss of 1.9 billion yuan ($280 million) in Q1 2009.