DUBAI - Oman's Sohar Aluminium, in which Rio Tinto has a stake, has closed a $600 million seven-year loan to refinance its existing debt, the company said on Thursday.

Sohar Aluminium has successfully concluded a transaction with a diverse group of international banks to refinance debt taken to fund the construction of the smelter and associated facilities, its Chief Executive Said Al Masoudi said in a statement to Reuters.

The company finalised the loan with nine banks including UAE lenders Mashreq and First Abu Dhabi Bank, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The seven-year loan had a margin of 350 basis points above LIBOR for the first five years and then 450 bps in the last two years, the source told Reuters.

The banks were not immediately available for comment.

Sohar was founded in 2004 as Oman's greenfield aluminium smelter with an annual capacity of over 390,000 tonnes, a dedicated 1,000 megawatt power Plant, and port facilities.

It is jointly owned by Oman's petroleum investment company OQ, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company TAQA and Rio Tinto.

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) ((Saeed.Azhar@thomsonreuters.com; +971 44536787; Reuters Messaging: saeed.azhar.reuters.com@reuters.net))