On 5th January 2021, Emirates Global Aluminium announced that its Al Taweelah alumina refinery, the first in the UAE, has delivered sustained monthly production at or above nameplate capacity for the past three months.
The milestone marks the completion of a world-class ramp-up of Al Taweelah alumina refinery and was achieved within 21 months of the commencement of production despite the challenges of a global pandemic. Other refineries commissioned elsewhere in the past decade have taken three years or more to reach this level.
Al Taweelah alumina refinery ramp-up has been delivered with excellent safety performance, with zero injuries leading to time off work.
The alumina refinery can produce some 2 million tonnes of alumina per year, enough to meet 40% of EGA’s demand.
Al Taweelah alumina refinery’s production replaces some imports, further increasing the economic impact of the UAE’s aluminium sector which contributes some $5 billion each year to the nation’s economy and supports one in every 100 UAE jobs.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, EGA’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The safe and efficient ramp-up of production at Al Taweelah alumina refinery is the result of meticulous planning and determined execution. I commend the entire team for their world-class performance in delivering this massive task.”
The Al Taweelah alumina refinery construction took 72 million hours of work and cost some $3.3 billion. The project was developed as part of EGA’s strategic expansion upstream in the aluminium value chain to create an integrated global aluminium giant. The company also developed a bauxite mine in the Republic of Guinea, which began exports of the ore from August 2019.
The alumina refinery employees more than 570 operational workers, including seasoned experts from around the world and Emiratis developed for roles in this new industrial activity for the UAE. Presently, 67 UAE Nationals work at Al Taweelah alumina refinery, including 37 women.
Preparations to operate Al Taweelah alumina refinery, which began whilst the project was still on the drawing board, took more than 500,000 hours of work.
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