Sustainable operations are key to the future, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) CEO Tim Murray said while warning that the aluminium industry “continues to face many headwinds”.

Murray was commenting during a series of awareness sessions kick-started by the company to improve operational efficiency and productivity for value-creation and sustainable operations. The series titled ‘Titan – Phase III: The Phase of Urgency & Extreme Ownership’ Campaign was launched last month and will run for one month.

Highlighting the impact of higher Alumina prices coupled with fluctuating LME prices, Murray said: “The aluminium industry today continues to face many headwinds, in particular the impact of higher Alumina prices coupled with fluctuating LME prices.”

“Through Project Titan - Phase III, we seek to adopt extreme measures to improve our operational efficiency all the while being prepared to seize the right opportunities in the future.”

The sessions are being held for Aluminium Bahrain employees across the plant by members of Alba’s Operational Excellence Department and featured Question & Answer sessions and open discussions on various subjects in order to streamline Alba’s cost structure.

Alba had launched the Phase III of its company-wide, cost reduction programme Project Titan with an aim to reduce cash-cost by $60 per metric tonne of aluminium and stepup its production capacity to 1,000,000 metric tonnes per annum by end of 2018.

Meanwhile, the Bahrain-based aluminium smelter’s total sales volume during the first nine months of 2018 touched 750,202 metric tonnes (mt), an increase of 7 per cent year-over-year (YoY), compared to 700,629 mt during the same period in 2017.

Alba also reported that its total production rose by 8 per cent YoY to stand at 762,952 mt.

For the third quarter of 2018, Alba reported a flat growth in its sales and production volume wherein total sales and production volume were 248,970 mt and 251,472, respectively, said a statement from the company.

Alba closed the third quarter and the nine months of 2018 with value-added sales averaging 60 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively.

Murray said: “As we move towards the fourth quarter, we expect a strong finish with our target to achieve 1,000,000 metric tonnes for the first time in our company’s history.”

Meanwhile, Alba’s Line 6 Smelter progress has advanced by more than 70 per cent while Power Station 5 exceeded 72 per cent and Power Distribution System is over 94 per cent.

“Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project (Line 6 Smelter and Power Expansion Project) is brimming with all kinds of activities as we progress towards achieving the First Hot Metal on January 1, 2019,” said the chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa during a meeting with Bechtel Group’s delegation, last month.

Shaikh Daij said: “We are excited at the progress of the Line 6 Expansion Project, which will transform us into the world’s largest smelter upon completion.

To date, Line 6 Smelter progress has advanced by more than 70 per cent while Power Station 5 exceeded 72 per cent and Power Distribution System is over 94 per cent.”

Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project, one of the largest brownfield developments in the region, is expected to begin production by January 1, 2019. This project will boost the smelter’s per-annum production by 540,000 metric tonnes, bringing its total production capacity to 1.5 million metric tonnes per year.