Russian Aluminum Won't Help Aluminum of Kazakhstan

Mashkevich won a tender for 31.7 percent of Aluminum of Kazakhstan through the Swiss-register Corica company. That stock, combined with his previous holdings gave him a controlling package. One of the conditions of the tender, however, was the construction of an additional plant to bring the country's total aluminum capacity up to 1 million tons per year. Russian Aluminum, which produces 75 percent of its raw materials, was interested in the bauxite facility. When the difference in interests led to the dissolution of the partnership, Russian Aluminum began to concentrate on its own projects to produce bauxite in Guinea and Guyana and expand production at its Achinsk and Nikolaevsk plants. The purchase by Russian Aluminum of a production license for the Severo-Onezhskoe bauxite deposit undoubtedly also contributed to the reconsideration of the partnership with Mashkevich. Russian Aluminum plans to build facilities there with a capacity of 1.4 million tons per year. Also, Russian Aluminum signed an agreement with SUAL, another Russian aluminum company, for the joint construction of a bauxite plant with a capacity of 1.4 million tons for $1.2 billion.

Russian Aluminum states that Kazakhstan is still a priority location for it. “We have not given up our plans and are looking at other options for implementing [bauxite and aluminum] projects in that country. In particular, we are negotiating with the Kazakh government and are preparing proposals for participation in the economy of that country,” the company's press service stated.