RUSAL invests USD 24 million in calcined coke production

UC RUSAL (SEHK: 486, Euronext: RUSAL/RUAL, Moscow Exchange: RUAL/RUALR), a leading global aluminium producer, has announced the launch of a new calciner at the Irkutsk Aluminium Smelter. The total project investment amounts to USD 23.7 million.

In 2015, it was decided to upgrade the calciner #2 at IrkAZ to produce calcined coke supplied to the Sayanogorsk Aluminium Smelter for the production of baked anodes. Production capacity of the calciner is 72 ktpa.

Currently Russia is short of calcination capacity and as a result, customers of calcined coke are forced to purchase the finished product in China at high prices.

RUSAL's calcination capacity includes IrkAZ as well as the Bratsk and Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Smelters. At year-end 2016, BrAZ and KrAZ produced about 800 kt of calcined coke, which satisfies 61% of the demand of RUSAL's aluminium smelters. After the calciner #2 at IrkAZ is launched, self-sufficiency of this material inside the company will increase to 71%.

'By increasing our in-house capacity for calcined coke production, RUSAL will be able to gradually abandon the supplies from third parties and cut costs by USD 8 million a year. The company is planning to further increase its petroleum coke production, thus allowing RUSAL to completely abandon its imported supplies in two to three years,' noted Evgeny Nikitin, Head of Aluminium Business.