RUSAL to form joint venture with Indonesian company

During Russian President Vladimir Putin's official visit to Indonesia, United Company RUSAL and the Indonesian state-owned mining and metals company Antam signed a memorandum of intent to form a joint venture in order to build a bauxite and alumina facility, the Russian aluminum producer's press office reported today. According to the companies' plans, the facility will be built on bauxite reserves located in Western Kalimantan. Construction is scheduled to start in 2009 with first alumina output planned in 2011. The facility's production capacity is estimated at 3.6m tonnes of bauxite and 1.2m tonnes of alumina per year. Under the memorandum, the RUSAL will hold a 51 percent and Antam a 49 percent stake in the joint venture. The two companies intend to form a working group in order to assess bauxite deposits and finalize a set of documents required to establish the joint venture.