The Saudi National Automobile Manufacturing Co. (SNAM) and the Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) signed recently a cooperation agreement to increase the aluminum content in new vehicles, according to Maaden officials.
Khalid Al-Awhali, vice president for strategy and development of aluminum at Maaden, said the agreement came within the identical plans of the two firms to increase the aluminum content of newly manufactured vehicles.
Maaden is a diversified mining company, which is active in gold-based metals mining and infrastructure industry.
Maaden manages one of the largest aluminum complexes in the world and has a laboratory for the production of aluminum used in the manufacturing of automotive sheeting.
Al-Awhali said that Maaden had also signed a contract with Jaguar Land Rover for the supply of auto sheeting.
He added that Maaden had also forged a partnership with the US firm Alcoa, one of the prominent leaders in the aluminum industry.
Under the partnership, Maaden and Alcoa would build a $10.8 billion aluminum complex. The terms of the agreement also call for the companies to construct a 1.8-million-ton-per-year aluminum refinery as well as a 70,000-ton-per-year smelter in Ras Al-Zour.
Fahd bin Sulaiman Al-Dhah, SNAM executive director, said the factory will manufacture customized auto products based on aluminum. He said that work was underway to build partnerships to ensure an integrated industry and improved manufacturing to serve the Kingdom within the next five years.