Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the Middle East’s largest aluminum producer, warned it could take up to 12 months to fully restore production at its Al Taweelah smelter in Abu Dhabi after a devastating Iranian missile and drone attack last week. The facility, one of the world’s biggest with an annual output of 1.6 million tons of cast metal in 2025, was forced into an emergency shutdown due to significant infrastructure damage.
The attack has compounded an already tight global aluminum market, with prices on the London Metal Exchange jumping over 10% since the onset of the Iran conflict. The Middle East accounts for roughly 9% of worldwide aluminum production, but depleted inventories and output constraints elsewhere have left little room to absorb supply shocks. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz had already strained raw material flows to regional plants even before the strike on EGA’s facilities.
EGA has completed an initial damage assessment and is coordinating with customers facing potential shipment delays. “We are working directly with customers whose deliveries might be impacted by the situation at Al Taweelah,” said Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA. The company noted that restoring operations requires repairing critical infrastructure and progressively reactivating reduction cells at the smelter.
Other facilities at the Abu Dhabi site, including an alumina refinery and a metals recycling plant, may resume partial production sooner, pending a final evaluation. However, the prolonged downtime at the core smelter operation poses a significant challenge for the company and the broader market.
The conflict’s ripple effects extend beyond the UAE. On March 28, Iran also targeted Aluminium Bahrain’s smelter in the Persian Gulf, with the company, known as Alba, currently assessing damages. These coordinated strikes highlight the vulnerability of critical industrial assets in the region amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
Global aluminum supply chains now face heightened uncertainty, with EGA’s projected recovery timeline stretching into early 2027. The market’s limited buffer means that any further disruptions could drive prices even higher, with the London Metal Exchange already reflecting a sharp 10% climb in just weeks.
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