Russian aluminium production maintains upwards creep

Russian aluminium production rose by 2.0% year-on-year to 3.094 million tonnes in the first 10 months of 2006, according to figures from the Aluminiy consultancy group.

That's very much in line with the growth rate in previous months and with last year's 1.5%. The capacity creep is coming from technical upgrades by both producers—RusAl and SUAL—of their smelter networks.

We expect to see a step change in the country's production growth once RusAl starts commissioning its new 300,000tpy Sayansk smelter—the first new aluminium smelter to be built in Russia since the demise of the Soviet Union.

The first phase of the new smelter is due to be commissioned this month with the second stage following over the course of 2007.

The country's alumina output at 2.714 million tonnes in Jan-Oct 2006 was marginally off the pace of year-earlier levels. However, it is now on an upwards curve after the resolution in April of a dispute with the supplier of raw materials to SUAL's Pikalevo facility. The long-running stand-off had served to depress the 250,000tpy plant's production over the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006.