It may take a year to restore Abu Dhabi aluminum output, EGA says

The Middle East’s biggest aluminum producer said it may take as long as a year to restore full output at its Abu Dhabi plant, following an Iranian attack a week ago.

Emirates Global Aluminium said the Al Taweelah smelter went into emergency shutdown, after suffering significant damage from missiles and drones. The company has completed an initial damage assessment of the facilities in the United Arab Emirates and is in contact with customers whose shipments may be impacted, it said in a statement Friday. 

The Middle East accounts for about 9% of global aluminum production, but the impact of the war is being amplified because constraints on output elsewhere have eroded inventories, leaving the market with little buffer to cushion any shocks. Even before the attacks on EGA’s facilities, the industry was bracing for more production cuts as Strait of Hormuz disruptions affected the flow of raw materials for the region’s plants.

“To resume operations at the smelter, EGA must repair infrastructure damage and progressively restore each of the reduction cells,” the company said in the statement. “Early indications are that a complete restoration of primary aluminum production could take up to 12 months.”

Aluminum prices have climbed more than 10% on the London Metal Exchange since the start of the Iran war.

Al Taweelah is one of the world’s biggest smelters, producing 1.6 million tons of cast metal in 2025. Other facilities at the site in Abu Dhabi, including an alumina refinery and a metals recycling plant, could resume some production earlier, pending a final damage assessment, EGA said.

“We are working directly with customers whose deliveries might be impacted by the situation at Al Taweelah,” EGA Chief Executive Officer Abdulnasser Bin Kalban said in the statement. 

Iran also hit Aluminium Bahrain’s smelter in the Persian Gulf on March 28. The company known as Alba said it’s assessing damages.

(By Anthony Di Paola)