Tag Archives: alumina

Emirates Global Aluminium nears first production at Al Taweelah alumina refinery

Base metals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Power supply for mines, Steel and iron ore, , , , ,

Emirates Global Aluminium has entered the final stages of commissioning of what will be the UAE’s first alumina refinery.

The Al Taweelah alumina refinery has now begun hot water testing of the digestion section of the plant, with first production still on course for the first half of 2019.

Digestion is the first of four successive stages of the Bayer process through which bauxite ore is refined into alumina, the feedstock for aluminium smelters, and involves the heating of a slurry of crushed bauxite and caustic soda to 270ºC using steam.

Commissioning of the last process stage, calcination, was completed in December, and, earlier this month, EGA’s nearby Al Taweelah power plant started delivering steam to the refinery through new connecting pipelines.

“Supplying steam from EGA’s existing power plant, which was built to provide electricity and steam for EGA’s Al Taweelah aluminium smelter, improves the alumina refinery’s overall energy efficiency,” the company said.

Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “We are making good progress with the complex process of commissioning Al Taweelah alumina refinery, in line with the meticulous planning and preparations which began even before construction started. We are looking forward to beginning production and ramping-up of this project, which along with our Guinea mine will transform EGA into an integrated global aluminium producer.”

Al Taweelah, which has a total budgeted project cost of approximately $3.3 billion, will be the first refinery in the UAE and only the second in the Middle East.

The company said: “Al Taweelah alumina refinery and the Guinea mining project expand EGA’s business upstream in the aluminium value chain and internationally. The projects will create new revenue streams for EGA and secure the competitive supply of natural resources the UAE’s aluminium industry needs.”

Once production is fully ramped-up, Al Taweelah alumina refinery is expected to produce some 2 Mt/y of alumina and meet 40% of EGA’s alumina requirements, replacing some imports.

Commissioning Al Taweelah alumina refinery requires more than 80,000 separate actions to be completed. The new plant contains some 9,500 instruments, 222 tanks, enough piping to stretch from Abu Dhabi to Muscat, and cabling that would reach from Abu Dhabi to Cairo.

Emirates Global Aluminium achieves milestone at Guinea bauxite project

Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining project news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Emirates Global Aluminium has loaded the first batch of bauxite from its under-construction Guinea mining project, with the tonnage travelling from its subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corp’s (GAC) mine to the coast.

Emirates, the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, said the 80-wagon train carried some 6,800 t of bauxite ore from GAC’s mine to the company’s facilities at Kamsar. The ore will be used to begin building a base-layer of bauxite at GAC’s new stockyard, according to the company.

First bauxite exports from the project are expected during the second half of 2019.

With a budget of around $1.4 billion, the project is the largest greenfield investment in Guinea in the last four decades.

“GAC has completed rail loops, and spurs to connect its facilities to an existing nearby railway track that is used by other companies. GAC’s locomotives, which were made in the US, and Chinese-made wagons, arrived in Guinea last year,” the company said.

The train took just under three hours to complete the 90 km journey from the mine to the coast, the company noted. GAC is also building port facilities including the unloading yard and an export pier at Kamsar, a well-established bauxite port.

Once the GAC project is fully-operational, up to six loaded bauxite trains a day are expected to make the journey from the mine to the port.

Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “This milestone is the result of many thousands of hours of planning and teamwork in Guinea involving GAC, train operator Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée, the owner of the existing rail infrastructure ANAIM, and other rail partners.”

Guinea is the world’s largest bauxite resource holder, and EGA’s project is expected to contribute significantly to the country’s exports of the ore from which aluminium is derived. Bauxite from the GAC project will be sold to aluminium producers around the world.

Once full ramp up is achieved, the GAC project is expected to produce some 12 Mt/y of bauxite.

The Guinea project is part of EGA’s strategic drive to expand its business upstream in the aluminium value chain and internationally. The company is also building the UAE’s first alumina refinery at Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi. This plant will refine bauxite into alumina.

Alcoa shores up gas supply for Western Australia alumina refineries

Base metals, Industrial minerals, Mining services, Power supply for mines, , , , , ,

Alcoa of Australia has secured three new gas supply agreements which, combined, will supply close to 25% of the company’s requirements in Western Australia from 2020.

The agreements with BHP, Woodside and Chevron, coupled with other gas supply contracts, including with Quadrant Energy and Santos, announced in 2015, complete Alcoa’s gas portfolio to fuel its Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup alumina refineries for the mid-term, the company said.

President, Alcoa Alumina, and Managing Director, Alcoa of Australia, Michael Parker, said: “In securing these new gas contracts we are demonstrating to our employees, suppliers, customers and the communities where we operate our commitment to the state.

“Alcoa’s three WA refineries are the largest integrated source of alumina globally and an important source of economic activity. They provide jobs for more than 3,000 Western Australians, primarily in the state’s south west, and generate some A$1.4 billion ($1.01 billion) in expenditure with WA suppliers.”

Alcoa is Western Australia’s single largest user of natural gas, consuming around 25% of the state’s total domestic gas supply.

Alcoa of Australia is 60% owned by Alcoa Corp and 40% owned by Alumina Limited. It owns and operates two bauxite mines and three alumina refineries in Western Australia, and the Portland aluminium smelter (holding a 55% share) in Victoria. Each year the company mines around 36 Mt of bauxite, refines 9 Mt of alumina and produces 300,000 t of aluminium.

Rio Tinto’s debut Amrun bauxite shipment sets sail

Base metals, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining project news, Mining techniques, , , , , , , ,

Rio Tinto has completed the first shipment of bauxite from its Amrun mine in Queensland, Australia, six weeks ahead of schedule.

At a ceremony on the Western Cape York Peninsula in the far north of Queensland, more than 80,000 t of bauxite was loaded on to the RTM Weipa bound for Rio’s Yarwun alumina refinery in Gladstone.

The US$1.9 billion (A$2.6 billion) investment in Amrun is aimed at replacing production from the depleting East Weipa mine and increasing annual bauxite exports by around 10 Mt. Amrun is expected to reach a full production rate of 22.8 Mt/y during 2019.

Rio Tinto Aluminium chief executive Alf Barrios said: “Bringing Amrun online further strengthens our position as a leading supplier in the seaborne market. We have the largest bauxite resources in the industry and are geographically well positioned to supply China’s significant future import needs, as well as supporting our refinery and smelting operations in Australia and New Zealand.”

The mining major was able to bring Amrun in ahead of schedule thanks, in part, to an innovation in design and fabrication of key infrastructure purpose-built for construction at Amrun’s remote location, according to Rio Tinto Growth & Innovation Group Executive Stephen McIntosh.

This included design and fabrication of the wharf on the Western Cape York Peninsula, which was constructed over water in essentially 13 pieces.

During construction, the Amrun development set a benchmark in supporting local and regional suppliers with US$1.6 billion invested with Australian companies, including $181 million with local Cape York companies, Rio said.