Jamalco Phase One

1.27 Mtpa to 1.47 Mtpa

increase in production

70%

staffed by local residents

150,000 tpa

expansion of refinery capacity

2 million

work-hours by 1,000 people with 0 LTIs

Challenges

The Unit 3 expansion project consisted of the balance of plant (BOP) and early works program (EWP). Both projects proceeded in parallel
The EWP objective was to increase the alumina-refinery production from 1.27 to 1.47 Mtpa
Phase Two of the Unit 3 expansion was slated to add approximately 1.35 Mtpa to the refinery's production capacity
This extra production was contingent on agreements to bring liquefied natural gas to Jamaica and the refinery, providing cleaner and less expensive power

Solutions

Provide custom-process engineering, construction-related engineering design, and play a critical role on the commissioning team
The design was executed in a 3D environment that expedited the design-review process and identified interferences so they could be eliminated prior to fabrication and construction in the field
Other process and support facilities were upgraded, including the bauxite slurry-feed to the existing digester S2 pump motor; the addition of spent slaked-lime to the existing scrubbers in one area; and increased water slaked-lime to high-efficiency causticization
More than 70% of the craft workers, operators, and tradespeople on the project were local Clarendon, Jamaica residents

Highlights

Material take-offs, valve, and instrument lists were extracted from the project’s intelligent databases, providing detailed and accurate requirements to enable early procurement and shipping of materials and equipment to the field
During 19 months of construction and more than two-million work-hours performed by the 1,000 people on the construction team, there were no serious injuries on site.

"The best of the five recent Alcoa expansion projects."

Alan Cransberg | President, Alcoa Primary Metals North America

“This project was completed with an outstanding safety performance, with no serious injuries in over 2 million work hours during 19 months of construction. That is outstanding when you consider we had an additional 1,000 persons on site during peak construction.”

Mr.Alberto Fabrini | Managing Director, Jamalco