Bosnian aluminium producer Aluminij resumes production after a 15-months pause: Source

Bosnia’s ailing aluminium producer Aluminij has reportedly recommenced production after a halt for 15-months, thanks to an agreement with an Israeli-Chinese partner signed earlier this year, reported a local media.

In April 2020, Israel’s M.T. Abraham Group and its partners China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (NFC) signed an agreement with Aluminij for a long-term lease of the Bosnian company’s production assets, an initial step towards the restart of the production.

The official start of production is announced in the beginning of November, but the official logs started rolling out earlier, public broadcaster BHRT said last week.

In the beginning of October, around 82 workers started preparing for the restart of the production at Aluminij’s foundry plant, the first unit to resume operation, said the report.

Aluminij plans to produce 3,000 tonnes of aluminium logs in the first two months after the restart of production, BHRT reported. The company has already signed contracts for raw material supply and aluminium product sale.

By 2021, Aluminij is expected to roll out 50,000 tonnes of products, planning to hire further 90 workers by the end of January.

In October, Aluminij signed a strategic partnership deal with Dubai-based global commodity trading group Advaita for selling half of its output for the next ten years.

Aluminij’s anode and electrolysis plants have not restarted yet as they await the investor to secure the supply of electricity and other raw materials at acceptable prices.

Aluminij stopped its operations temporarily in July 2019 after its power supply was cut off due to swelling unpaid bills.