Maaden inks 2 pacts with Rio Tinto Alcan for aluminium project

It is reported that Saudi Arabian Mining Company has signed two agreements including a technology transfer deal with the Rio Tinto Alcan as part of its mine to metal aluminium project. Under the USD 10.5 billion scheme, Maaden will refine and smelt bauxite ore mined in Zubairah, in Qassim province, at its planned Ras al Zour complex. Rio Tinto Alcan said that it will provide Maaden with its bespoke smelting technology. The alumina refinery will have a capacity of 1.6 million tonnes per year, while the smelter will have an initial capacity of 720,000 tonnes per year of aluminium. Commercial production is penciled in for early 2012 and more than 70% of the plant's output is intended for export. Under the terms of the new co operation agreement, Rio Tinto Alcan will offer various types of support including technical services, secondment of key personnel, research and development assistance, management services and aluminium off take support. Maaden will involve Rio Tinto Alcan in the procurement and supply of alumina and other raw materials. Maaden and Rio Tinto Alcan recently altered the scope of the project to build a captive power plant at the aluminium complex. Maaden originally agreed to undertake the project with Alcan, but the Canadian firm was taken over by Rio Tinto in 2007. The global financial crisis and plummeting commodity prices have recently thrown Maaden's partnership with Rio Tinto Alcan into doubt. In early December, Rio Tinto announced it was shedding 14,000 jobs worldwide and would slash investment budgets for 2009 in a bid to rein in debt. (Sourced fro MEED)