Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), the largest non-oil and gas company in the United Arab Emirates, signed a 15-year agreement with LD Ports & Logistics, a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, for the trans-shipment of bauxite on Monday, April 30, 2018 Global Alumina Corporation (GAC) in the Republic of Guinea.
Louis Dreyfus Armateurs which is a global shipping and services group and Abu Dhabi Ports have separately signed a commitment to form a joint venture to work together to implement the project.
Transhipment is the process of transporting goods from one ship to another at sea and transferring goods when the vessels are too large to be moored in a port. The use of larger vessels reduces shipping costs on long journeys.
EGA will load bauxite at Kamsar port in Guinea from its own project, Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC), which will supply customers worldwide and from the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG) to the Al refinery. Taweelah from EGA in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, EGA’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Executive Officer said, “EGA has set itself an ambitious growth plan to grow both upstream and internationally. Transshipment is an important link in the chain that will link our alumina refinery and our aluminum smelters in the UAE with bauxite mines in Guinea, and will also reduce GAC shipping costs to global bauxite markets Abdulla Kalban explained.
Gildas Mayor, General Manager of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, said: “These agreements with EGA and Abu Dhabi Ports extend our geographical and operational presence in West Africa. We are pleased to partner with these leading UAE companies and contribute to the development of the Guinean economy by contributing to the competitiveness of Guinean bauxite transportation. ”
EGA is currently developing the GAC project in Guinea, a bauxite mine and associated export facilities. The first tonne of bauxite from the project is expected in the second half of 2019. The GAC project is one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in the last 40 years and will be a new global source of bauxite supply.
EGA is also building the UAE’s first alumina refinery in Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi. The first alumina is expected in the first half of 2019. Alumina, which is refined from bauxite, is the raw material for aluminum smelters. The Al Taweelah Alumina Refinery is expected to meet 40% of EGA’s alumina requirements once the full ramp-up is complete.
The GAC-based transhipment system will consist of self-propelled barges that will depart from the GAC berth at Kamsar Port to two floating transfer stations. For bauxite destined for the Al Taweelah refinery, LD Ports & Logistics will use a gearless Panamax that will shuttle between Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée and a ferry.
