Ma′aden and Alcoa Sign Bank Financing for Ma′aden Aluminum Smelter and Ma′aden Can-Sheet Rolling Mill; Will move Immediately into Financing for Mine and Refinery
Ma′aden, the Saudi Arabian Mining Company, and Alcoa today announced
that the Ma′aden Aluminium Company and Ma′aden Rolling Company both of
which are owned 74.9% by Ma′aden and 25.1% by Alcoa have signed bank
financing for the Middle East′s first fully integrated aluminum smelter
and food-grade can-sheet rolling mill in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia..
Sixteen financial institutions, together providing over US$1.9 billion,
participated in the signing. The financing has been heavily
oversubscribed.
Engineer Abdullah Busfar, interim President of the smelting and rolling
mill companies and Vice President of the Ma′aden Aluminum SBU, said that
there had been wide ranging international interest in financing the
project. 'We have the participation of major Saudi Arabian banks as well
as major international banks,? he said.
Busfar added that the signing marked the latest in a string of
milestones that the project has met successfully under challenging
deadlines. 'We signed the JV Agreement in December last year, broke
ground in June this year, met our financing commitments in the same
month, and poured first concrete on October 24, just 10 months after
signing the JV. We are well and truly on our way,? he said.
At the ceremony, Ken Wisnoski, Alcoa′s president of Global Primary
Products Growth, said: 'We are pleased that financing, on very
attractive terms, for the smelter and the rolling mill was achieved
swiftly during a challenging period in the global financial markets. We
are gratified by the significant over-subscription, which reflects the
bank groups′ strong support for this project. It echoes our own
confidence in the project′s potential to become the preeminent aluminum
manufacturing complex in the Middle East.?
The companies will shortly commence the financing process for the mine
and refinery, which constitute the second phase of the US$10.8 billion
Ma′aden Alcoa joint venture.
About Ma′aden
Ma′aden was established as a Saudi Arabian joint stock company in March
1997 to facilitate the development of Saudi Arabia′s non-petroleum
mineral resources and to diversify the Kingdom′s economy away from the
petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
Ma′aden is engaged in the development, advancement and improvement of
all aspects of the mineral industry, mineral products and by-products
and related industries in Saudi Arabia. In July 2008, Ma′aden offered 50
percent of the company′s shares for subscription in a successful SAR
9.25 billion IPO. Ma′aden has progressed towards realizing its vision of
building a world-class mineral enterprise and its mission of being a
profitable, publicly owned, international mining company, while
maintaining the utmost concern for human resources, health and safety,
environmental and social issues.
About Alcoa
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) is the world′s leading producer of primary aluminum,
fabricated aluminum and alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day
aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in
the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction,
commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets
over the past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are
flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as
Alcoa ® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and
building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such
as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral
part of Alcoa′s operating practices and the product design and
engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index for nine consecutive years and approximately
75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in
active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 59,000 people in 31
countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com
About the Ma′aden Alcoa joint venture
In its initial phases, the joint venture will develop a fully integrated
industrial complex, including:
A bauxite mine with an initial capacity of 4,000,000 metric tons per
year
An alumina refinery with an initial capacity of 1,800,000 metric tons
per year
An aluminum smelter with an initial capacity of 740,000 metric tons
per year
A rolling mill, with initial capacity of 380,000 metric tons per year.
The mill will be the first in the Middle East and will be one of the
most technically advanced mills in the world.
First commercial production from smelter and mill is scheduled for early
2013. First production from the mine and refinery is set for early 2014.
Alcoa will supply alumina to the smelter in the interim period.
Total capital investment in the joint venture is expected to be
approximately SAR 40.5 billion ($US 10.8 billion). Ma′aden holds 74.9
percent of the joint venture; Alcoa 25.1 percent with provisions in
place to enable an increase to 40 percent.
About Ras Az Zawr
Ras Az Zawr is the location for Ma′aden's minerals industry complex, a
77 square km site, 90km north of Al Jubail on the Arabian Gulf coast of
Saudi Arabia. In addition to housing the alumina refinery, aluminum
smelter and rolling mill for the Ma′aden Alcoa joint venture aluminum
industry, it is also the site for Ma′aden Phosphate Company's integrated
chemical and fertilizer facility currently near completion. The
phosphate complex consists of a phosphoric acid plant, a sulphuric acid
plant, an ammonia plant, a DAP granulation plant, a co-generation plant
and desalination plant, as well as related infrastructure. It will
process phosphate concentrate brought by rail from Al Jalamid. This will
produce about 2.92 million mtpy of granular DAP, plus approximately
400,000 mtpy of excess ammonia and about 200,000 mtpy of excess
phosphoric acid. Ras Az Zawr also has 25 square kilometers of land set
aside for industrial expansion and downstream industry.
Alcoa Inc.
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