EGA co-hosts China Aluminium Week

Presentation during event’s summit set to promote EGA-owned bauxite  

United Arab Emirates, 31 October 2016: Emirates Global Aluminium (“EGA”), one of the world’s largest primary aluminium producers, is a proud co-host of 2016 China International Aluminium Industry Week, which takes place in Nanning, China from 25 to 28 October. The event, which is expected to attract over 500 delegates, will feature two large-scale knowledge- and information-sharing sessions – China Aluminium Forum; and Pan Pacific Aluminium Industry Summit.

The latter will feature EGA’s Wael Zaraket (Senior Vice President, Strategic Raw Materials, Upstream) delivering a presentation in a session entitled “CEO Dialogue – Sustainable Development of Global Aluminium Industry”. Zaraket will leverage the opportunity to outline the strategic rationale for and provide an update on the development project that EGA’s wholly owned subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation (“GAC”) will manage.

Phase I of the GAC project was officially launched in June 2016. The scope comprises an initial 12 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) bauxite mine in the Republic of Guinea, where the company holds a concession on more than 1 billion tonnes of bauxite. The mine is expected to be operational from 2018. The project will also include the construction of a dedicated export terminal at Port Kamsar and upgrades to existing rail infrastructure for in-land logistics. Guinea holds the world’s largest and highest quality reserves of bauxite, the raw material used in the production of aluminium.

“EGA is strategically moving towards upstream integration in alumina, with ownership of a controlling position in bauxite seen as an important factor,” says Yousuf Bastaki (Executive Vice President, Upstream at EGA). “The GAC bauxite mine project is a cornerstone of this strategy, which will ultimately yield a vertically integrated business with the capability of self-managing the processes from mine to metal.”

The mine’s entire annual production will be sold to third parties. “With global demand for high-quality bauxite expected to grow significantly over the next decade, particularly in China, the GAC project has excellent prospects,” Bastaki adds.