Total alumina production expected to exceed one million tonnes by end 2019
Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates, recently announced a milestone at its new Al Taweelah alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi, with 600,000 tonnes of alumina produced since the company began operations at the new refinery in April.
Al Taweelah alumina refinery is expected to produce more than one million tonnes of alumina in total by the end of 2019. During August, average daily production of alumina was 88 per cent of Al Taweelah alumina refinery’s nameplate capacity.
Once fully-ramped up, production at Al Taweelah alumina refinery is expected to be some two million tonnes of alumina per year, enough to meet 40% of EGA’s alumina needs.
“Ramping up production at a new alumina refinery is a complex and challenging task, and we have a world-class team operating EGA’s alumina refinery, and they are making great progress on this journey,” said Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, EGA.
Alumina refineries convert bauxite ore into alumina, the feedstock for aluminium smelters. EGA is importing bauxite ore to process at US$ 3.3bn Al Taweelah alumina refinery from the Republic of Guinea.
EGA’s aluminium is the largest made-in-the UAE export after oil and gas. In 2018, EGA produced more than 2.6 million tonnes of cast metal. EGA is the only UAE producer and makes the UAE the fifth largest aluminium-producing nation in the world.
