The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) has started operations at its $590m aluminium rolling mill at Ras al-Khair in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

MEED reported in February 2011 that South Korea’s Samsung Engineering had been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the scheme

The rolling mill has a capacity of 380,000 tonnes a year (t/y) and is the first of its type to be built in the region. The plant will produce can stock that will be sold within Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC.

The facility forms part of Maaden’s Ras al-Khair aluminium complex. The site will also include a 1.8 million t/y alumina refinery and a 740,000 t/y aluminium smelter, with a 4 million t/y bauxite mine being built at Al-Baitha.

Maaden holds a 74.9 per cent stake in the aluminium complex, while Alcoa owns the remaining 25.1 per cent.