RusAl, which exports aluminum to 50 countries and operates in nine Russian regions and 13 countries, said in a press release that the output of high value-added casthouse products went up 12.5% and amounted to 716,516 tons. Alumina production grew 2.1% to 2.95 million tons, and bauxite output rose 28.6% to 5.4 million tons.
The company said the growth in output of aluminum and high value-added casthouse products resulted from RusAl's ongoing programs to bolster production, modernize equipment and improve the technical and economic performance of its smelter operations.
The 2.1% increase in alumina output was driven by the acquisition of a 20% stake in the QAL Refinery in Australia in April 2005, as well as modernization programs undertaken at the Nikolayev Alumina Refinery in Ukraine.
The acquisition of Aroaima Mining Company in Guyana, participation in the Komi Aluminium project, and a production increase at Compagnie des Bauxites de Kindia in Guinea secured a 28.6% year-on-year rise in bauxite output in the first nine months of the year.
Founded in March 2000 following a merger of major aluminum plants in the former Soviet Union, RusAl holds 75% of the Russian market and 10% of the international market.
RusAl signed an agreement last week with Russian aluminum company SUAL and Swiss-based Glencore, the world's largest supplier of commodities and raw materials to industrial consumers, on the consolidation of their assets to form the United Company Russian Aluminum.
The merger deal, which aims to produce over 11 million tons of primary aluminum a year, will secure the new company 12% of the world's primary aluminum market. RusAl will have a 66% stake in the corporation, while SUAL will hold 22% and Glencore 12%.
