Rusal in talks on new ways to support imports of aluminum raw materials

Rusal is discussing new instruments to support imports of raw materials for aluminum production in Russia with the Industry and Trade Ministry and State Duma committees, the Russian aluminum giant's deputy CEO, Oleg Vaitman said at a Duma Economic Policy Committee roundtable on anti-crisis legislation and the strategic development of Russian metallurgy.

"For us, as a company that is significantly oriented toward imported raw materials - in our industry it so happens that bauxite [deposits are located] around the equator - the ability to develop deposits outside of the country, in friendly jurisdictions, is critically important. It would make sense to not only provide for the possibility of supporting projects related to exports of products, but also having to do with the ability to develop our assets abroad, import products into the country, process and ship to foreign markets," Vaitman said.

Rusal produces about 50% of its bauxite in Guinea, where it controls Compagnie des Bauxites de Kindia (CBK) (2.9 million tonnes per year), the Dian-Dian deposit (3.1 million tonnes) and the Friguia bauxite and alumina complex (1.4 million tonnes).

Rusal increased production of bauxite, which is processed into alumina for production of aluminum using electrolysis, by 19% to 15.9 million tonnes in 2024 with the expansion of CBK and Dian-Dian. Alumina production jumped 25.3% to 6.43 million tonnes as a result of Rusal's purchase of a 30% stake in Chinese alumina refinery Hebei Wenfeng New Materials (HWNM) for $316 million.

Rusal bought the stake in the Chinese refinery due to problems sourcing raw materials after the company lost access in 2022 to the Nikolayev Alumina Refinery (NGZ) and alumina supplies from Australia, which together accounted for about 40% of its alumina supply.

In the spring of 2025, Rusal also signed an agreement with Indian companies Pioneer and KCap to acquire a stake in Pioneer Aluminium Industries Limited, an alumina producer with capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year. A Rusal subsidiary will acquire up to 50% of Pioneer Aluminium in three stages, including an initial 26% for $243.75 million plus adjustments for amount of working capital and debt. The subsequent stages of the deal will be paid pro rata. The sellers and Rusal intend to supply bauxite to the refinery and get alumina from it in proportion to their stakes.

The profitability of alumina supplies is vulnerable to problems such as railway infrastructure throughput capacity, Rusal officials said earlier. The low priority for metallurgical freight in the hierarchy of railway transport leads to growing problems in raw material supply chains and shipments of finished product, representatives of Rusal, industry association Russian Steel and the Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Works (ChEMK) said in a meeting at the Industry and Trade Ministry in December 2024.

Aluminum exports are ranked tenth by priority in shipments by Russian Railways, while alumina imports are in last place, twelfth, Aluminum Association chairman Irina Kazovskaya said.

Rusal is an active long-term participant of Metal-Expo exhibitions. Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works is one of the world's largest steel producers and holds a leading position among Russian iron and steel companies. You can meet with the company's specialists in St. Petersburg at Metal-Expo’2025, the 31st International Industrial Exhibition (11-14 November 2025 Saint Petersburg, Russia, CEC Expoforum).

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