A processing facility for copper and gold will be set up in Ras Al Khaimah by a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Unifico GmbH.
The company setting up the facility, Unifico Copper FZC LLC, said the processing facility and regional offices will cover 2 million sq m and be operational by the fourth quarter of 2013.
The company will supply up to 500,000 tonnes of LME (London Metal Exchange) standard copper cathodes a year to the UAE and the Middle East, it said.
Khurshid Shah, chairman, Unifico Copper FZC LLC, said: “The level of support extended to us by Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, and the team at Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (Rakia) was certainly commendable, and reaffirms all the positive facts we have been learning about the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.”
RAK an ‘obvious choice’
Shah said the array of facilities and business incentives offered by Rakia made Ras Al Khaimah the obvious choice when deciding on the location of the offices and processing facilities.
“Taking into account the broad scope of our project and our objective to serve our future clients in this region in the most efficient and economical manner, it was imperative that we are geographically close to them. In Ras Al Khaimah, with its deep water port facilities of Mina Saqr and business friendly approach, the management of Unifico Group believes that it has found the perfect geographic location to complement the company’s future development and expansion in all regards,” said Shah.
“Our new facility will be the first plant in the Middle East to be set up by the owners of the mine themselves, with a lifespan as long as those of the Chilean mining sites. This will be a major contributor to the economy of the UAE and the Arab world as a whole,” he added.
Jean Feghaly, general manager, Rakia, said: “Unifico Copper FZC LLC is another valuable addition to Rakia’s growing portfolio of companies. They can be assured of top rate infrastructure facilities and support to ensure that their operations carry on smoothly, in line with their plans to tap the market potential of this region.”
