EGA Resumes Alumina Production at Al Taweelah, Three Months After Iranian Attacks

The Abu Dhabi refinery expects to reach half of its production capacity within days, marking another milestone in a recovery effort that has repeatedly beaten its own timeline.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has resumed alumina production at its Al Taweelah refinery in Abu Dhabi, more than three months after operations were suspended following Iranian attacks on Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (KEZAD). The refinery is expected to reach roughly half of its production capacity within days of the restart.

"First alumina production from Al Taweelah alumina refinery marks another major milestone in our ongoing efforts to restore EGA's Al Taweelah site to its position as one of the world's leading aluminium production complexes," said Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium. "The commitment and agility of the Al Taweelah alumina refinery team enabled us to achieve this milestone safely and swiftly."

The March 28 Attack

Operations at Al Taweelah were suspended on March 28 after Iranian attacks struck Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi, forcing a full evacuation and emergency shutdown across the site's smelter and cast house, power plant, alumina refinery, and recycling plant. The strike caused significant damage to the complex and left two EGA employees hospitalized; both have since been discharged to continue their recovery at home. EGA declared force majeure on certain products in April as it worked to assess the damage and plan repairs.

A Recovery Running Ahead of Schedule

In the months since, EGA has methodically brought the site back online in stages. The casthouse produced its first cast metal on May 4, remelting frozen metal recovered from damaged cells alongside output from newly restored ones. The recycling plant, which had been in its final commissioning phase at the time of the attack, resumed cast metal production in early May. The first of the smelter's 1,262 reduction cells was restarted on May 26, and by early July, 89 cells were back in operation, with anode removal completed across all cells and bath cleaning roughly 90 percent finished.

At the alumina refinery specifically, the plant resumed production of hydrate — the intermediate material used to produce alumina — on June 24, setting up this week's restart of alumina output itself. The refinery, located next to EGA's Al Taweelah smelter, supplies alumina that is stored on-site before being transported to the smelter via a conveyor belt system. It has been in operation since 2019.

What's Still Ahead

Despite the faster-than-expected pace of recovery, EGA has maintained its original estimate that a full return to pre-incident production levels across the broader Al Taweelah site could take up to a year. Importantly, the company has said hot metal production at the smelter does not depend on the alumina refinery reaching full capacity, meaning the two recovery tracks can continue to progress in parallel.

EGA's Jebel Ali facility has continued operating at full aluminium production capacity throughout the crisis, providing a stable production base while Al Taweelah is restored. The company has said average daily raw material deliveries currently exceed what's needed to sustain both Jebel Ali output and the Al Taweelah restoration effort, with on-ground inventories in the UAE continuing to grow.

Wider Fallout From the Strait

The attack on Al Taweelah has had ripple effects on EGA's logistics more broadly. Outbound shipments were temporarily suspended in the aftermath, leading to a build-up of finished metal inventory in the UAE, though the company has since established alternative outbound routes using ports outside the Strait of Hormuz. EGA has said a full return to pre-crisis shipment levels will likely require the reopening of the strait. The company's recycling plants in the United States and Germany have continued operating throughout the disruption, providing additional supply continuity to customers.