LONDON --Russian producer United Company Rusal said Tuesday first quarter aluminum output rose 2.5% on year to 999,415 metric tons.
Alumina production was flat on year at 2.74 million tons, while bauxite production was down 8.6% on the same period of 2006 at 4.12 million tons.
The drop in bauxite output was due to temporary mining shortages in Guinea and at the Middle Timan bauxite deposit in the Komi Republic, Rusal said.
Production of value-added casthouse products increased by 12.5% and amounted to 48% of primary aluminum output, while foil production rose by 21%.
"The active development of the sectors that constitute our major client base and the toughening of international environmental legislation offer more opportunities for the use of aluminum as a light metal in our key markets, such as the automotive industry, and secure stable growth in demand for our products," said Rusal chief executive Alexander Bulygin.
The company said that to meet market expectations, it is pursuing the implementation of five large construction projects, including the Boguchanskoye energy and metals complex, the Taishet Aluminum Smelter in the Irkutsk Region, a bauxite and alumina complex in the Komi Republic, and the move to full capacity at the Khakas aluminum smelter, commissioned in December.
UC Rusal was founded in March through the merger of Russian producers Rusal and Sual, and the alumina assets of Glencore International SA.
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