Saudi Arabia to sign $10.8 billion contract with Alcoa to develop aluminum plant
20 Mar 2017
State-run Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Maaden) and U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa agreed on Sunday to build a $10.8 billion aluminum complex in the world’s top oil exporter, targeting the Middle East from 2013.
Under the deal, the companies form a joint venture to set up a 1.8 million ton-per-year refinery, a 740,000 ton-per-year smelter, a bauxite mine with an annual capacity of 4 million tons and a rolling mill with a capacity of up to 460,000 tons. The firms have yet to raise the financing for the complex mainly planned to be built in Ras Azzour on the kingdom’s Gulf Coast close to Maaden’s phosphate fertilizer plants.”We will go for financing during 2010,” said Maaden Chief Executive Abdullah al-Dabbagh.
Last December, Rio Tinto Alcan abandoned its 49 percent stake in a 740,000 ton-per-year smelter project because it was unable to obtain financing due to the global financial crisis. The project was then budgeted at $8 billion.
The smelter and mill are slated to start production in 2013 while the refinery and mine would come online in 2014, Dabbagh told reporters in the Saudi capital Riyadh.The project aims at “making Saudi Arabia and the Middle East a major hub for aluminum production and its downstream industries,” Dabbagh added.
Alcoa Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld told Reuters the costs of $10.8 billion would be split, with the U.S. firm and its partners paying 40 percent while Maaden is to handle 60 percent.He said a variety of funding options were being considered, when asked whether Alcoa could conduct a capital hike or go for debt.
Plans call for the expansion of the mill to 460,000 tons of aluminum sheets, ends and tabs stocks for the manufacturing of aluminum cans, the firms said. Development will take place in two phases, starting with the smelter and rolling mill to be followed by the mine and refinery, Dabbagh said during a signing ceremony.
For the alumina refinery, Maaden has received four bids for a $1 billion engineering, procurement and construction management contract, industry sources said earlier this month.
U.S. Fluor Corp teamed up with Worley Parsons and Canada’s SNC-Lavalin Group Inc joined forces with Hatch to submit proposals. France’s Technip and U.S. Bechtel bid individually.
Maaden is investing about 60 billion riyals ($16 billion) to develop the kingdom’s phosphate, bauxite, gold and industrial minerals and help reduce reliance on oil.A phosphate and fertilizer joint venture with Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) is due online in 2011.
Source – www.reuters.com
Sustainable steel making for “Make In India” and achieving Paris climate deal targets
ND Rao, PMAI
Exclusive
26 September 2016
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India blessed with around 30 billion tons of Iron Ore Resource base (as on 2015), 20% High Grade, 30% Medium Grade & balance 50% Low Grade ore. All medium & low grade ores require to be processed through washing & beneficiation plants to enrich ore quality for use in Steel making. Iron ore beneficiation & pelletisation plants with total capacity around 116 MTPA & 85 MTPA respectively have come up in the country to use these low grade iron ore fines. It is expected the steel consumption will increase to around 150 kg/person/yr from existing level of 60 by 2030, which amounts around 200 million tons steel production. It is estimated by 2060, India will be a develop country with a population of 1600 million & highest in the world. Considering present 100 million Tons Steel production & 85 million Tons of Pellet production per year, following CO2 emissions can be reduced per year for sustainable steel making. Mining – As per FIMI, around 100 million tons of iron ore fines stocks are available in our country. Existing Iron ore Beneficiation units shall use these fines’ dumps, which in turn reduce further mining & reduction in CO2 emission by 0.09 Mil. Tons (0.9 KgCO2/t X 100 Mil. Tons) Pipeline – Around 24 MTPA Iron ore slurry is being transported through underground pipeline from various Beneficiation Plants to respective Pellet Plants. It reduces CO2 emission by 0.8112 Mil. Tons (33.8) Kg CO2/t X 24mil. Tons) per annum comparing to road transport Agglomeration – 85 MTPA Iron ore pellet production will reduce CO2 emission by 19.55 Mil. Tons ((230) Kg CO2/t X 85 Mil. Tons) per annum comparing to sintering process. Iron & Steel Making – By use of 85 MTPA Iron ore pellets for iron & steel making will reduce CO2 emission by 26.7 Mil. Tonnes ((1255-941) Kg CO2/t X 85 Mil. Tonnes) per annum comparing to the use of sinters. In total; around 47.15 Million Tons of CO2 emission per year can be reduced by changing to sustainable technology in Steel making value chain. In order to ratify Paris climate deal, Steel makers have to reduce carbon foot print to achieve the below target set in Paris Climate deal * CAPPING TEMP RISE < 2 deg C * 35% REDUCTION IN EMISSION LEVELS BY 2030 FROM 2015 LEVEL * $2.5 Trillion ESTIMATED INVESTMENT REQUIRED * 40% OF OVERALL ENERGY MUST BE NON-FOSSIL FUEL BASED BY 2030 * ABOVE 25 Yrs OLD COAL BASED POWER PLANTS TO BE SHUTDOWN * 34,278 Mw TO BE CLOSED. * TOTAL COAL BASED CAPACITY 211,640 Mw (2015 CEA) |
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