Dubal Holding signs agreement to manufacture copper products in UAE

Dubal Holding and Oriental Copper will invest about $41 million in a copper processing unit

Copper, used in electric wiring and motors, is vital for global electrification efforts. Bloomberg

Dubal Holding, the investment arm of the Dubai government in the commodities, mining, energy and industrial sectors, has signed an initial agreement with Thailand’s Oriental Copper to manufacture copper products in the UAE.

The companies plan to set up a production unit, which can process up to 30,000 metric tonnes of copper every year, Dubal Holding said on Thursday.

Both companies will invest about Dh150 million ($40.84 million) in the project, which is expected to create 700 jobs locally, it said.

“We are pleased to sign this [agreement] with Oriental Copper, one of the leading manufacturers of high conductivity copper bus bars and other copper fabricated products in the world,” said Ahmad Fahad, chief executive of Dubal Holding.

“This … is a vital step in meeting the region's need for downstream copper products, which is now primarily met by imports.”

Copper, used in electric wiring and motors, is vital for global electrification efforts.

Electrification is projected to increase annual copper demand to 36.6 million metric tonnes by 2031. However, supply is expected to rise to 30.5 million metric tonnes during the same period, according to global consultancy McKinsey.

The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, consumed about 151,000 metric tonnes of refined copper in 2020, according to the World Bureau of Metal Statistics.

The global consumption of refined copper for 2020 was about 24.9 million metric tonnes.

Oriental Copper's agreement with Dubal Holding “will contribute to boosting UAE's economy and local employment opportunities”, said the company's president Tuang-Hong Thiptarangoon.

Last week, Manara Minerals Investment Company, a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Mining Company and the Public Investment Fund, signed a binding agreement to acquire a 10 per cent stake in Brazil's base metals company Vale.

The company said it was buying the stake in Vale, which has projects in Canada, Brazil and Indonesia, based on an enterprise value of $26 billion.

The global base metal mining market size is expected to increase to $428 billion in 2026, from $338 billion in 2020, registering an annual growth of 4 per cent, according to Statista.

Dubal Holding’s portfolio of assets includes a 50 per cent stake in the Emirates Global Aluminium, a 60 per cent interest in OSE Industries, and minority positions in the Dubai Waste Management Centre Project and Sinoway Carbon – a calcined petroleum coke plant based in China.