Emirates Global Aluminium PJSC (EGA) recognized another milestone at its Al Taweelah smelter, as the 600 thousandth metric ton of refined alumina rolled out of the plant since its opening in April.
Altogether, operations at the site are projected to refine over one million metric tons of alumina by year’s end. The site is not yet operating at full capacity, as last month the plant’s average daily production was at 88 percent of full production. However, the plant is slated to ramp up to full nameplate capacity over the course of the coming year.
Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EGA, noted the gargantuan task of ramping the site up to full capacity.
“Ramping up production at a new alumina refinery is a complex and challenging task, and we have been preparing for the ramp-up of Al Taweelah alumina refinery since before construction began. We have a world-class team operating EGA’s alumina refinery, and they are making great progress on this journey.”
By far the largest such operation in the Middle East, Al Taweelah refinery boasts a workforce of almost 600, the lion’s share of whom are of local extraction. Altogether, preparations for production at the site required over half a million man-hours of work. Construction of the US$3.3 billion plant required 72 million hours of work from over 11 thousand workers drawn from almost two dozen countries.
Based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Emirates Global Aluminium is an aluminium conglomerate created by the merger between Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL) and Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) in 2013. EGA had an estimated enterprise value of US$15 billion at the time the merger took place. The firm is owned equally by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai. Emirates Global Aluminium holds interests in bauxite/alumina and primary aluminium smelting.