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Maaden Alcoa refinery work gathers pace

RIYADH: The Maaden Alcoa aluminum joint venture announced that it had poured the first concrete in the construction of the region's first alumina refinery at the fully integrated aluminum complex at Ras Al-Khair.

Once complete, the refinery will initially produce 1.8 million metric tons of smelter-grade alumina per year.

In another first within the Kingdom, the refinery will utilize a technologically advanced, engineered natural system to treat, recycle and conserve significant volumes of water.

Speaking at the ceremony marking the pouring of first concrete Abdullah Busfar, chairman of the board of directors of Maaden Aluminium Company , said the refinery was highly symbolic of the Kingdom's emerging strength as a competitor in the regional and global aluminum industry.

"We have everything we need to develop a fully integrated aluminum industry within Saudi Arabia," Busfar said.

"In Maaden itself we have the experience and local knowledge required to develop the bauxite reserves and the other natural resources needed for feedstocks. We have the support and leadership of the government. And we have a partnership with Alcoa that is accelerating the development of the skills and technology required to build out this complex and the downstream opportunities it will create."

Ken Wisnoski, Alcoa vice-president and president of Alcoa's Primary Products Growth group, said the joint venture's commitment to world-class design and low operating costs was apparent throughout the complex.

"The refinery, as with the smelter and the rolling mill, will be based on best-in-class technologies and operating practices. Conserving resources is crucial to maintenance of low operating costs and, as with the other facilities within this complex, this refinery has numerous advantages designed to reduce its demand on energy and other natural resources, such as water. We're pouring concrete today as the foundation for a long-term, highly competitive, low-cost and sustainable operation," Wisnoski said.

Maaden President and CEO Khalid Al-Mudaifer commended the project team for their ingenuity in applying measures to protect the environment.

He also highlighted the project's role in creating new careers for Saudi nationals and developing a local supplier program to benefit communities near the future operations.

The complex's smelter and rolling mill are scheduled to begin production in 2013.

The mine and refinery will follow in 2014.

In its initial phases, the joint venture will develop a fully integrated industrial complex which will become the world's preeminent and lowest-cost supplier of primary aluminum, alumina and aluminum products, with access to the growing markets of the Middle East and beyond.

The complex comprises:

-- A bauxite mine with an initial capacity of 4,000,000 metric tons per year

-- An alumina refinery with an initial capacity of 1,800,000 metric tons per year

-- An aluminum smelter with an initial capacity of 740,000 metric tons per year

-- A rolling mill, with initial capacity of 380,000 metric tons per year. The mill will be the first in the Middle East and will be one of the most technically advanced mills in the world.

First commercial production from smelter and mill is scheduled for 2013, followed by first commercial production of alumina from the mine and refinery complex, scheduled for 2014.

Alcoa will supply alumina to the smelter in the interim period.

Maaden was established as a Saudi Arabian joint stock company in March 1997 to facilitate the development of Saudi Arabia's non-petroleum mineral resources and to diversify the Kingdom's economy away from the petroleum and petrochemical sectors.

Maaden is engaged in the development, advancement and improvement of all aspects of the mineral industry, mineral products and by-products and related industries in Saudi Arabia.

© Arab News 2012