Alcoa in $10.8b Saudi Arabian joint venture

ALCOA has formed a joint venture with Saudi Arabian mining company Ma’aden to build a fully-integrated aluminium complex in Saudi Arabia. Ma’aden will own 60% of the joint venture, with Alcoa owning the remaining 40%. Total capital investment in the project is expected to reach SAR 40.5b ($10.8b). Alcoa says the complex will produced the lowest-cost aluminium in the world. The two-stage project will begin with the construction of a rolling mill and aluminium smelter at Raz Az Zawr on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, with production due to start in 2013. The rolling mill will have an initial hot-mill capacity of 250,000–460,000 t/y and will be one of the most technologically advanced mills in the world. The smelter will have an ingot, slab and billet capacity of 740,000 t/y. A 1.8m t/y alumina refinery will be built at the site as part of the second stage, which will also see the development of a bauxite mine at Al Ba’itha, near Quiba, in the north of the country. The mine will produce 4m t/y of ore. Infrastructure such as road and rail links will be built by the Saudi government. The refinery and mine are expected to be operational by 2014. “Alcoa’s partnership in all aspects of this integrated industry brings with it enormous value not only in terms of technology, resources and experience but also a proven commitment to sustainability. A focus on quality alongside the robust economics of the project will ensure its leading role in advancing Saudi Arabia and the region as a major hub for the aluminium and downstream sectors,” says Ma’aden president and ceo Abdallah Dabbagh.