EGA reports rapid progress in Al Taweelah smelter restart

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has announced significant progress in restoring production at its Al Taweelah facility, achieving crucial early milestones ahead of schedule.

The industrial site suffered substantial damage on the 28th of March when Iranian attacks on the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi forced an emergency shutdown.

Safety and Infrastructure Recovery

Following the incident, EGA emphasised that the safety of employees and contractors remains its highest priority. Two employees sustained injuries requiring hospitalisation; both have since been discharged to continue their recoveries. The company quickly established a dedicated team tasked with delivering a safe restoration of the Al Taweelah facilities.

Repairs to damaged infrastructure have progressed rapidly. Basic utilities are now restored across the complex, and the availability of natural gas and electricity is projected to ramp up to meet the demands of the restart programme.

Smelter and Reduction Cell Progress

EGA must progressively restore 1,262 reduction cells to resume hot metal production at the smelter. The company has completed anode removal across all reduction cells. Bath cleaning is approximately 90 per cent complete, and frozen metal has been removed from over 20 per cent of the cells. The first restored reduction cell was restarted on the 26th of May, and 89 reduction cells have been restarted so far. While hot metal production could take up to a year to return to pre-incident levels, EGA is working to accelerate this timeline.

Casthouse, Recycling, and Refining The Al Taweelah Casthouse produced its first cast metal on the 4th of May. The facility is currently remelting the frozen metal extracted from the reduction cells to manufacture finished aluminium products, alongside casting new hot metal from the restored reduction cells.

Before the March incident, the recycling plant had recently commenced final commissioning and cast metal production. Commissioning work resumed in April, followed by recycled cast metal production in early May. The ramp-up to full production is anticipated to take up to six months, maintaining the original timeline based on scrap availability.

At the alumina refinery, first alumina production is expected early in the third quarter. A rapid ramp-up to full production will depend on the optimisation of bauxite supply chains, though the broader ramp-up of hot metal production is not reliant on the refinery reaching full capacity.

Leadership Perspective

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: "We are rapidly and safely actioning a clear, disciplined plan to restore production at Al Taweelah, which is one of the most important aluminium production complexes in the world. All opportunities to accelerate the timeline further are being explored, and we will achieve our goal of emerging stronger than ever before. Our people have risen to this challenge, and I commend their continued heroism and dedication to EGA's bright future."

Jebel Ali Operations and Logistics

While Al Taweelah recovers, EGA’s Jebel Ali site continues to produce aluminium at full capacity. Inbound deliveries of major raw materials currently exceed requirements, leading to increasing raw material stockpiles in the UAE. EGA possessed significant volumes of metal in transit and overseas warehouses at the onset of the conflict, allowing continued supply to some customers. Although outbound logistics constraints in March caused a temporary suspension of new shipments, EGA has successfully established alternative logistics routes using ports outside the Strait of Hormuz. The company is selling more metal than it produces at Jebel Ali, gradually reducing UAE stockpiles, though a full return to pre-crisis shipment levels requires the re-opening of the Strait.