MOSCOW, August 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's largest aluminum producer Rusal said Thursday it had closed a deal with mining multinational Rio Tinto to buy a 56.159% stake in Italian alumina refinery EurAllumina.
The remaining 43.8% is held by Switzerland-based Glencore AG, an international supplier of a wide range of commodities and raw materials to industrial consumers.
Located in Portoscuso on the southwest coast of Sardinia in Italy, Eurallumina has produced alumina and hydrate since 1973. The refinery annually consumes 2.2 million metric tons of bauxite from the Weipa mine in Australia, and has capacity of over one million tons.
Founded in March 2000 after a merger of major aluminum plants in the former Soviet Union, Rusal exports aluminum to 50 countries, and operates in nine Russian regions and 13 countries. The company accounts for 75% of Russian aluminum production and 10% of world output.
