The Metlen Group is dynamically entering the mineral raw materials market, acquiring a strategic role in supplying Europe with critical mineral raw materials required for the development of modern industry, challenging the dominance of Asia and strengthening Greece’s position on the global map of critical mineral raw materials, such as bauxite, alumina and gallium.
Specifically, Metlen is proceeding with a strategic investment of 295.5 million euros in Agios Nikolaos, Boeotia, expanding the industrial alumina production unit and integrating gallium into its production for the first time.
The completion of the projects and the start of production is scheduled for bauxite in 2026, for alumina and gallium gradually from 2027, with full operation in 2028.
According to the president of the Group, Evangelos Mytilineos, “we demonstrate in practice our commitment to innovation, sustainable development and the circular economy, while at the same time firmly confirming that Metlen can play a leading role in the transition towards a more ‘green’ and resilient industrial production.”
Following the expansion of the existing unit, METLEN will achieve a total annual production of 2 million tons of bauxite, 1.25 million tons of alumina from 865,000 tons today, while Greece will be ranked among the 12 largest alumina producers in the world.
At the same time, gallium, one of the components of bauxite, will be produced for the first time in the history of the industry in the region (50 MT of gallium), meeting Europe’s need to strengthen its strategic autonomy, given the export restrictions imposed by China, a decision that has raised serious concerns for the EU’s supply chain and its long-term industrial competitiveness.
Demand
The demand for aluminum, which determines the demand for alumina at the international level, has been growing continuously in recent years and because it is mainly driven by the construction and automotive sectors, but also by the progress of the packaging and machinery industries, it is expected to continue to grow. In addition, many governments are strengthening incentives for infrastructure development with the aim of improving economic conditions in combination with global trends, such as the shift to lighter vehicles, and for this reason, aluminum demand is expected to increase further.
In particular, in the area of direct interest of METLEN (Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Black Sea), it is expected that the supply-demand balance of metallurgical alumina will remain in deficit for the coming years (according to Wood-Mackenzie data, in 2025 the deficit in Europe will be over 2.5Mt, while in the Middle East, North Africa and Black Sea at 9.5Mt).
Gallium is not mined – it is obtained as a by-product of the mining and processing of other metals, mainly aluminum, zinc, and is produced in every country that produces these metals. It dominates the use of semiconductors based on compounds of this metal, a fact that has made it a high-tech metal especially in recent decades.
The two main fields of application are integrated circuits (IC) and optoelectronic devices. In particular, solid gallium alloys are used in optics, electronics and nuclear engineering due to their non-toxicity and durability. Gallium provides a critical component in many stages of the manufacturing process of computer chips and other electronic devices.
Current global production of gallium is approximately 7,500 million tons per year. Smaller producing countries include Hungary (Ajka), Japan, Russia and Slovakia. 95% of gallium is currently produced by China.
Its price is already high and it is expected to increase further, recording a new record in 2030. According to certain studies, gallium, with a price of over 700 dollars per kilogram today, has increased by +23.20% compared to the beginning of last year. It is up +120.29% in price compared to the price of 422.70 dollars per kilogram on January 1, 2021 and has increased +212.26% since January 1, 2020 (in comparison, the S&P 500 index has increased +80.54% over the same period). Based on 2018 prices, when the price of gallium was 274.37 dollars per kilogram, the increase is +239.38%.
The total Capex includes the following sub-investments:
Development of research and new bauxite mining deposits,
New buildings and mechanical equipment for the development of the Gallium production line,
New buildings and mechanical equipment for the expansion and modernization of the alumina production capacity,
Energy supply projects of the industrial unit,
Expansion and upgrade of the port,
Other road infrastructure and flood control projects.
