The $2.4-billion Sohar Aluminium smelter, a joint venture between Rio Tinto Alcan, Oman Oil Company and the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, was officially inaugurated last month.

The new-generation AP36 smelter, the first greenfield smelter in the Middle East in over 30 years, was completed on time, on budget and reached full production capacity in February this year.
Sohar Aluminium says it implements decades of industry insight in its design, layout and construction, resulting in the most efficient and environmentally-conscious smelter currently in operation in the region. Sohar Aluminium also debuts the world’s longest single potline at 360 cells and the industry’s highest-known-capacity ingot castor at 27 tonnes per hour.
Moreover, the smelter is the only one in the world to operate exclusively using Rio Tinto Alcan’s benchmark AP36 reduction technology, making it one of the most cost-effective and innovative facilities in the world.
The smelter is already producing metal at a capacity of 360,000 tonnes per annum and is one of the few smelters worldwide that is operating profitably at full capacity in the current economic climate, says Sohar Aluminium CEO Bruce Hall, adding that a “favourable position on the cost curve, resulting from industry-leading efficiency and low operating costs, are the key”.