Saudi Arabia quickly emerges as a competitor in the aluminium industry

Saudi Arabia may have been late to build an aluminium industry compared with the other countries in the GCC, but it is now putting the finishing touches on an integrated production chain that surpasses anything else in the region.

A $10.8bn aluminium complex is nearing completion at Ras al-Khair on the east coast that includes an alumina refinery, smelter and a rolling mill. The refinery is fed by a bauxite mine in the north, with the reserves guaranteed supply to the complex for at least 30 years. There are already plans to expand the complex, as well as developing downstream conversion industries.

What sets the kingdom apart is that it is an end-to-end aluminium production chain. Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) has once again successfully exploited the country’s rich mineral endowment to build an entire industry, as it already has done with gold, copper and fertiliser production. It completes the transformation of Maaden into an industrial giant.

The company was formed as recently as 1997 with the task of building a third pillar of industry to follow oil and petrochemicals. It has succeeded in less than two decades. It is also generating much-needed job opportunities. The size of its staff has grown from 1,000 in 2008 to 5,763 in 2013 and is forecast to hit 14,000 by 2020. Each job created in the mining industry supports five others indirectly.

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