China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction (NFC) has successfully produced the first batch of molten primary aluminium at its new Dak Nong aluminium smelter in Vietnam, marking a significant milestone for the country’s aluminium industry. The achievement was reached 50 days ahead of the contractual schedule, while overall project construction was completed three months earlier than planned.

The 450,000-tonne-per-year facility is Vietnam’s first large-scale modern electrolytic aluminium smelter. Located in the former Dak Nong Province, now part of Lam Dong Province, the project overcame major challenges, including cross-border logistics disruptions and difficult monsoon-season construction conditions.

On 7 July, NFC completed the single-round energisation of 112 reduction cells in Phase 1. Sixteen cells across the two potrooms entered stable preheating before the first aluminium tapping was successfully completed without operational interruptions.

NFC will now continue commissioning the remaining reduction cells, gradually increasing production to achieve Phase 1’s annual capacity of 150,000 tonnes, forming the first stage of the smelter’s full 450,000-tonne design capacity.