Despite being hampered by sanctions most of both periods, Russian aluminium giant U.C. Rusal showed production results ranging from level pegging to significant increases in both the fourth quarter and the full year of 2018.
In last year’s final quarter, Rusal produced 943 thousand metric tons of primary aluminium, up by 3 thousand metric tons on the quarter. The firm’s utilization rate was 96 percent, mirroring that of the prior quarter. Krasnoyarsk smelter led the way with 256 thousand metric tons, followed closely by Bratsk’s 254 thousand metric tons of production, with Sayanogorsk contributing another 136 thousand metric tons.
Sales of aluminium for the quarter totaled 877 thousand metric tons, at a realized price of US$2,115/metric ton, both of which were down on the year from last year’s fourth-quarter sales of 1,046 thousand metric tons for a realized price of US$2,274/metric ton.
The fourth quarter saw Rusal refine 1,958 thousand metric tons of alumina, down slightly from the third-quarter total of 2,000 metric tons. Aughinish led the quarter by refining 468 thousand metric tons, followed by Nikolaev’s refining of 439 thousand metric tons, then Bogoslovsk’s 255 thousand metric tons.
Bauxite production for the fourth quarter totaled 3,719 thousand metric tons, down a shade on the quarter from the prior period’s total of 3,848 thousand metric tons. The Kindia mine in Guinea contributed 909 thousand metric tons of bauxite ore in the quarter, followed by Russia’s two mines, namely Timan and North Urals, registering 639 thousand metric tons and 625 thousand metric tons, respectively.
For the full year, Rusal produced 3,753 thousand metric tons of primary aluminium, good for a 1.3-percent improvement over the prior year’s total of 3,707 thousand metric tons. Krasnoyarsk led the way last year with a total smelted tonnage of 1,009 thousand metric tons, followed closely by Bratsk’s 1,009 thousand metric tons of product.
Last year saw Rusal refine 7,774 thousand metric tons of alumina, up by 1 thousand metric tons on the year. Aughinish refined 1,874 thousand metric tons for the full year, followed by Nikolaev’s 1,715 thousand metric tons, then Bogoslovsk with a yearly total of 1,002 thousand metric tons.
Rusal’s bauxite production for the year came in at 13,847 thousand metric tons, up by 18.9 percent from last year’s all-in bauxite total of 11,645 thousand metric tons. Kindia again led the way with a yearly production of 3,451 thousand metric tons, followed by Timan’s yearly total of 3,325 thousand metric tons, and North Ural’s total yearly production of 2,326 thousand metric tons of bauxite ore.