Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), a world leading primary aluminium producer and the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, has announced an early milestone in the development of its permanent bauxite mining and export facilities in the Republic of Guinea.
Jan de Nul, a Belgian marine contractor that also worked on the construction of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, completed a three month project for site infill and elevation of 50 ha of land at Kamsar on the Guinean coast for a rail loop and bulk materials handling facilities.
Completion of the work is an early milestone in EGA’s $1 billion investment in the development of a bauxite mine, rail infrastructure and export facilities. The project is the largest greenfield investment in Guinea in four decades, will contribute 10% to Guinea’s GDP, and create 4,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The site infill and elevation work was completed with zero lost time injuries. Marine sand was piped to the site through a specially-built 5 km pipeline, significantly reducing the need for truck movements in Kamsar town.
Yousuf Bastaki, EGA’s Executive Vice President Upstream, said: “This early milestone shows good progress in our Guinea project, which will boost Guinea’s economy, create value for EGA, and secure the supply of natural resources that we need.”
In a second phase of the Guinea project, EGA will build an alumina refinery in the country.
Guinea has around 7,000 Mt of bauxite resources, over a quarter of the global total, EGA reports. Guinean bauxite is amongst the highest quality worldwide. EGA’s bauxite mine is in the Boké region of northwest Guinea, where it holds a concession on more than 1,000 Mt of bauxite. Commercial production is expected to begin in 2018 and grow to 12 Mt/y. A railway extension is under development to connect the mine with Kamsar port.
More than 200 Guineans are being seconded over the next several years to EGA’s operations in the UAE to prepare them for roles at GAC. EGA is also investing to support communities near its operations in Guinea, opening community health centres, installing water wells, building schools, providing adult literacy and vocational training and protecting local fauna and flora.
EGA’s Guinea project will help secure the raw materials required by the UAE’s growing aluminium industry. EGA’s production makes the UAE the world’s fourth largest aluminium producing country. Some 20 companies in the UAE manufacture products using EGA’s aluminium in a sector which already employs around 30,000 people.
Last October EGA inaugurated a container terminal facility at Kamsar Port in Guinea. This facility is being used for the export of bulk bauxite samples and the import of equipment for EGA’s construction project. On the completion of construction of EGA’s project it will be handed to the state for third-party use, creating a further boost for the local economy
EGA is a jointly-held, equal-ownership company formed by Mubadala Development Co of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corp of Dubai by combining their respective aluminium industry interests. EGA’s core operating assets are Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL, also known as Jebel Ali Operations) and Emirates Aluminium (EMAL, also known as Al Taweelah Operations), whose combined production capacity of 2.4 Mt/y places EGA among the top five primary aluminium producers in the world, by volume. The UAE-based EGA also owns Guinea Alumina Corp (GAC), a strategic bauxite mine and alumina refinery development project in West Africa; and is currently developing an alumina refinery in the UAE. In addition, EGA has plans for significant local growth and international expansion.
Jebel Ali Operations, where commissioning began in 1979, operates one of the world’s largest single-site primary aluminium smelters. The Jebel Ali Operations complex, built on a 4.75 km2 site in Jebel Ali, Dubai, comprises a 1.05 Mt/y smelter, a 2,350 MW power station, a large carbon plant, extensive casting operations (more than 1.2 Mt/y), a water desalination plant, dock and other facilities.
Al Taweelah Operations, where commissioning began at the end of 2009, is the world’s largest single-site primary aluminium smelter. The Al Taweelah Operations complex, housed on a 6 km2 site in Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi, comprises a 1.38 Mt/y smelter, a 3,100 MW power station, a large carbon plant, extensive casting operations (more than 1.8 Mt/y), a water desalination plant, dock and other facilities.
The EGA portfolio comprises high quality primary aluminium products in three main categories: high purity and foundry re-melt products (for electronics and aerospace and automotive applications respectively); rolled products (for packaging, lithographic sheets and the automotive industry); and billets for extrusion and forging (for construction, industrial, transportation and automotive purposes). Busbars and anode bars are also made for the electrolytic process used to produce primary aluminium from alumina.