EGA and Chinalco sign agreement to build alumina refinery in Guinea

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates, and Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) have signed a framework agreement progressing their cooperation on the development of an alumina refinery in the Republic of Guinea.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mohammad Hassan Al Suwaidi, UAE Minister of Investment, Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Ling Ji, Vice Minister and Deputy International Trade Representative of Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, and Zhang Yujing, President of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products. The framework agreement was signed by Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, and Dong Jianxiong, Vice President of Chinalco and Chalco, at the UAE-China Business & Investment Forum in Beijing.

The companies now intend to further jointly progress the project’s feasibility and joint investment.

EGA is the parent company of Guinea Alumina Corporation, which operates a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in Guinea’s Boké province.

Last month, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), one of the world’s largest clean energy companies, and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer in the world, agreed an alliance to work together on aluminium decarbonisation and low-carbon aluminium growth opportunities.

Masdar and EGA will explore the joint development of renewable energy projects, with potential battery storage and green hydrogen production and storage, to support the decarbonisation of EGA’s existing operations in the UAE, and any future operations in the country.

The two companies will also work together internationally to find opportunities through which Masdar will support EGA to power new aluminium production facilities with renewable energy sources.

Masdar is a global leader in renewable energy and the UAE’s flagship clean energy company. It develops and operates utility-scale renewable energy projects around the world.

Aluminium production is energy-intensive, and generating the electricity required using fossil fuels accounts for about 60 per cent of the global aluminium industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier, Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi held constructive talks with the Commerce Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Wentao, over high-growth sectors on the closing day of the UAE-China Business and Investment Forum, which took place during the two-day state visit by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the People’s Republic of China.

The ministers discussed prospects for stimulating growth in bilateral and mutual trade and investment, in addition to new horizons and areas available for investment in high-growth sectors.