The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) and Alcoa have announced the achievement of the first hot metal milestone at their joint venture smelter project at Ras Al Khair in Saudi Arabia. 

This development marks the successful commissioning of the first of 740 smelting furnaces or “pots”, and is a key step toward commercial production at the smelter.

At the ceremony marking the event in Ras Al Khair, Maaden president and CEO Khalid Al Mudaifer said achieving the first hot metal in only 25 months from the pouring of first concrete is testimony to the vision of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to the dedication of Maaden, Alcoa and their respective contractor teams.

“Today we see the first aluminium produced in Saudi Arabia, and  the launch of a new industry based on the kingdom’s natural resources and human talent,  the vision of the government and the close friendship and collaboration of Maaden and our joint venture partner, Alcoa. The regional strength and expertise of Maaden and the technological leadership and global market reach of Alcoa is a winning combination,” Mudaifer said. 

MOMENTOUS
Alcoa chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said the ceremony in Saudi Arabia represented a momentous event for Alcoa and a clear demonstration of the company’s focus on disciplined execution.

Saudi Arabia will mine bauxite, refine alumina and produce metal and metal products

“The Maaden Alcoa joint venture is the largest fully integrated project that Alcoa has embarked upon since creating the modern aluminium industry nearly 125 years ago,” Kleinfeld said. “It will be the lowest-cost producer within our global smelting system and in addition to lowering Alcoa’s overall cost base, will help establish Saudi Arabia as the regional leader in the global aluminium industry. Alcoa is pleased to play a role in creating new economic opportunities for the people of Saudi Arabia, and delivering profitable growth for our company.”

The chairman of the Maaden Aluminium joint venture, Abdullah Busfar, recounted some additional noteworthy statistics that have led to the first hot metal milestone.

“From the outset this has been a project that has been managed to achieve both cost and schedule targets. It is just 29 months since the joint venture issued Bechtel with a notice to proceed with construction.  That is as we anticipated at the time; it is in keeping with the most advanced and disciplined project construction practices anywhere in the world,” he said. 

“We want to congratulate Bechtel and its team of 46 different sub-contracting companies that employed the labour and expertise of about 14,000 people from 25 different nationalities. They have worked almost 60 million hours within a world-class safe-man-hours record. 

“More than 700 Saudi citizens have completed their initial intensive training and are ready to take their place as skilled operators within this smelter. That we can celebrate all this here today, in what was desert less than three years ago, is a great credit to everyone who has contributed to this project. This is exactly the safe and productive outcome that our JV is committed to delivering, and we are very pleased that we are seeing it become reality.”

In its initial phases, the joint venture will develop a fully integrated industrial complex which will become the world’s pre-eminent and lowest-cost producer of primary aluminium, alumina and aluminium 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 million tonnes per year

• An alumina refinery with an initial capacity of 1.8 million tonnes per year

• An aluminium smelter with an initial capacity of  740,000 tonnes per year

A rolling mill, with initial capacity of 380,000 tonnes per year will be set up. The mill will be the first in the Middle East capable of producing food-grade can sheet, as well as sheet for automotive building and construction applications. It will be one of the most technically advanced mills in the world.