Rio to halt shipments to Russian-owned alumina plant in Ireland
Rio Tinto Group plans to stop supplying bauxite and sourcing alumina from a United Co. Rusal International refinery in Ireland that’s a key supplier to Europe’s aluminum industry as the world’s second-biggest miner moves to sever ties with Russian companies.
Rio has an agreement to supply bauxite to Rusal’s Aughinish refinery in Ireland and then take an equivalent amount of alumina once its processed. Rio ships the alumina to both its own aluminum smelters in Europe and third-party producers. The refinery became a flashpoint for the global aluminum industry in 2018 when previous sanctions on Rusal fueled turmoil in metal markets.
Rio is in the process of stopping both shipments, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified as the matter is private. It’s not yet clear when the shipments will stop as Rio looks to unwind existing contracts, the person said.
A spokesman for Rio declined to comment.
Rio said earlier Thursday that it was joining a growing list of companies cutting ties with Russia. The London-based miner also operates the Queensland Alumina Ltd. joint venture with Rusal, which holds a 20% stake. While Rio is evaluating its options regarding the partnership with Rusal, it said last week that it had the “appropriate structures” in place to ensure Queensland Alumina’s operations would not be disrupted.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation