Construction Week reported that Saudi Arabia Mining Company Maaden has announced that it is to begin production at the aluminum smelter which will form the Phase I of USD 10.8 billion integrated aluminium production process next month.
Maaden Aluminium Company a venture which is 74.9% owned by Maaden and 25.1% by aluminium giat Alcoa is in the midst of building a facility which has been described as the largest and most efficient vertically integrated aluminium complex in the world.
It is being built over two sites, with a bauxite mine and ore crushing facility at Al Ba'itha in north eastern Saudi Arabia, while 600 kilometers away at Ras Al Khair on the Gulf coast it is building an alumina refinery, the smelter and a rolling mill.
Maaden said that production would begin at the plant on December 12th 2012 and the facility will be in ramp up mode until it eventually reaches its capacity of 740,000 tonnes per year.
