"The state of Queensland [in northeastern Australia] offers Rusal a good opportunity to boost its alumina production, which is in line with our strategy of providing our plants with raw materials, and increasing aluminium output," Alexander Livshits, Rusal's deputy director general for international and special projects, was quoted as saying in a company press release.
Rusal bought a 20% stake in Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL), which runs an alumina plant with a capacity of 3.8 million metric tons annually, for $401 million earlier in the year, boosting its alumina production by 770,000 tons a year and increasing its raw material base by 22%.
"Although Rusal decided not to tender for the development of the Aurukun deposit, we still consider it a potential source of bauxites for QAL. We are interested in expanding the plant's capacity," Livshits said.
Rusal accounts for 75% of Russian and 10% of the world's primary aluminum output.
