"We intend to achieve complete self-sufficiency not just in [the supply of] bauxites and alumina, the main raw materials used in aluminum smelting, but also in products essential to the electrolysis process, such as cathodes, coke and carbon loam," said Valery Matviyenko, director of Rusal's engineering and construction department.
The facility, purchased from China's Hongyuan Carbon Plant Co., produces 15,000 metric tons of cathode blocks for alumina electrolysis, and will cover about 50% of Rusal's cathode needs, Matviyenko said. He said it would protect the company against disruptions in cathode supply and enable it to improve quality through direct technology control.
Rusal plans to invest $3 million in upgrading its new production unit and in construction of an additional furnace to increase output to 25,000 tons.
The company ranks among the world's top three producers of aluminum and alloys, and exports to 40 countries across the world. It accounts for 75% of Russia's aluminum output and 10% of global production.
