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RUS - Rusal to produce high-margin products from red mud recycling process

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Russian aluminium producer Rusal said Tuesday it will start trial production of red mud-based flux additives at its Urals aluminium smelter (UAZ) from its new red mud recycling process.

The company will also produce its first scandium concentrate at its new 2 mt/year capacity built at the UAZ smelter.

Rusal started building its own scandium concentrate capacity in March and it is scheduled to be commissioned and put into operation immediately.

In 2014, total investment for both projects will be Rb74 million ($2.06 million).

Rusal's head of R&D and technology, Victor Mann, said: "At the moment the project is at its most challenging stage because the company has completed the lab tests and wants to start large-scale operations. And the trial production has shown brilliant results, this is why we all believe the project is really promising."

The red mud recycling program is in line with a government supervised initiative coordinated by Russia's ministry of education and science.

In 2012, the ministry invested Rb35 million on various Rusal research projects, some of which were used for pilot area recycling of red mud at the UAZ facility.

"Between 2011 and 2013, Rusal invested Rb190 million in the recycling project," the company added.

Rusal is the world's largest aluminium producer and supplied 8% of global aluminium and 7% of global alumina in 2013.


Source: platts.com

 

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