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Conference gathered industry experts from around the world to the UAE
United Arab Emirates: Highlighting its commitment to industry progress, Emirates Global Aluminium ("EGA") recently co-hosted the annual conference for the International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina and Aluminium ("ICSOBA") in Dubai. The 33rd event of its kind, ICSOBA 2015 marked the first time the conference has been hosted in the UAE and successfully gathered key industry players from around the world who exchanged insights in the areas of bauxite exploration and mining as well as alumina and aluminium production.
Over 200 delegates from 38 countries attended ICSOBA 2015; and the agenda featured a total of 86 papers covering the various fields of the aluminium industry from Bauxite to Metal. Dr Ali Al Zarouni (Honorary President of ICSOBA and EGA's Senior Vice President, Jebel Ali Operations and Technology Development & Transfer) delivered the opening welcome address before presenting the first of ten EGA-authored papers presented at the conference, (among which were three joint papers). An eleventh paper, written by Masdar Institute, was co-authored by two employees from EGA. Michel Reverdy (Senior Manager - Technology Transfer, Technology Development & Transfer: EGA) played a key role in co-ordinating the proceedings and developing the papers.
As co-host of ICSOBA 2015, EGA conducted tours for conference delegates of its UAE smelter sites - namely Emirates Aluminium ("EMAL" in Taweelah) and Dubai Aluminium ("DUBAL" in Jebel Ali). In addition, 30 delegates attended a detailed tour of EMAL's Phase II carbon facilities and EMAL Potline 3.
The event closed with an EGA-hosted gala dinner, where the best papers from the conference were announced. Two EGA papers[1] were recognised: "Best Carbon Paper" and "Best Aluminium Paper - Industrial Application" (a joint paper with Carbone Savoie). Also during the gala dinner, ICSOBA medals displaying portraits of industry pioneers Paul Héroult, Charles Martin Hall and Karl Josef Bayer were presented to Dr Al Zarouni.
Research and technology development have been hallmarks of EGA since inception and the business has dedicated considerable resources - both human intellect and financial investment - to these activities over the years. The returns have been substantial; whether in terms of improved efficiencies, enhanced processes and productivity, increased safety and operational security or benchmarking energy consumption and environmental performance indicators. These benefits underscore the importance EGA places on continuous improvement through innovation.
Commenting on the importance of supporting industry events such as ICSOBA, Dr Al Zarouni said, "As a business, EGA believes strongly in the power of knowledge-sharing. We also believe in supporting progress in the industry by participating in forums like ICSOBA, where we can not only showcase our own developments but also learn from other players. Indeed, the exchange of ideas and the results of work from the various fields of research in bauxite exploration and mining as well as alumina and alumina production, are fundamental to the sustainability of all sectors of the aluminium industry. ICSOBA 2015 was extremely successful in this regard and we are pleased to have co-hosted its début event in the UAE."
About EGA
Emirates Global Aluminium ("EGA") is a jointly-held, equal-ownership company formed by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai by combining their respective aluminium industry interests. EGA's core operating assets are Dubai Aluminium ("DUBAL", also known as EGA Jebel Ali) and Emirates Aluminium ("EMAL", also known as EGA Al Taweelah), whose combined annual production capacity of 2.4 million tonnes per annum ("tpa") places EGA among the top five primary aluminium producers in the world, by volume. The UAE-based EGA also owns Guinea Alumina Corporation ("GAC"), a strategic bauxite mine and alumina refinery development project in West Africa. In addition, EGA has plans for significant local growth and international expansion.
DUBAL, where commissioning began in 1979, operates one of the world's largest single-site primary aluminium smelters. The DUBAL complex, built on a 4.75 square kilometre site in Jebel Ali, Dubai, comprises a 1 million tpa smelter, a 2,350 MW power station, a large carbon plant, extensive casting operations (more than 1.2 million tpa), a water desalination plant, dock and other facilities. DUBAL holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO/TS 16949, ISO/IEC 20000-1, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 29990, ISO 50001 and OHSAS 18001 certification.
EMAL, where commissioning began at the end of 2009, is the world's largest single-site primary aluminium smelter. The EMAL complex, housed on a 6 square kilometre site in Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi, comprises a 1.3 million tpa smelter, a 3,100 MW power station, a large carbon plant, extensive casting operations (more than 1.8 million tpa), a water desalination plant, dock and other facilities. EMAL holds ISO 9001, ISO 10002, ISO./IEC 27001, ISO 29990, ISO14001 and ISO/TS16949 certification; as well as OHSAS 18001 certification and NEBOSH certification in Occupational Health and Safety.
The combined DUBAL-EMAL portfolio comprises high quality primary aluminium products in three main categories: high purity and foundry re-melt products (for electronics and aerospace and automotive applications respectively); rolled products (for packaging, lithographic sheets and the automotive industry); and billets for extrusion and forging (for construction, industrial, transportation and automotive purposes). Busbars and anode bars are also made for the electrolytic process used to produce primary aluminium from alumina ore. Over 350 customers are served in at least 68 countries, predominantly in Asia, Europe, the MENA region and the Americas.
[1]
The "Best Carbon Paper" award went to "Strategy for sustaining anode quality amidst deteriorating coke quality" (authored by Tapan K. Sahu, Saleh Ahmed Rabbaa, Amer Al Marzooqi, Muhammad Shafiq Malik, Bienvenu Ndjom, Pragasan Palavar and Esam Mohamed).
The "Best Aluminium Paper" award went to "Performances of green and eco-friendly ramming pastes in EGA pots" (authored by Benedicte Allard, Arvind Kumar and Mohamed Tawfik).
© Press Release 2015
