Rusal May Sell Surplus Alumina To Mideast Smelters

UC Rusal will have surplus alumina to sell under contract or in the spot market, with new smelters in the Middle East possible buyers, Vladimir Kremer, Rusal's managing director of sales and marketing, said. "We will be long alumina by around 3 million to 4 million metric tons over the next few years," Kremer said. "Our major objective is to secure our own smelting capacities, and use the rest for trading." Given the growth of new aluminum smelter projects in the Middle East, the region will likely be more important to Rusal for trading than as a potential smelting investment opportunity, Kremer said. "The Middle East will be more important for trading as there are a number of smelting facilities in the Middle East and producers there may be very good customers for our alumina," he said. Rusal currently produces 4 million tons a year of primary aluminum and 11 million tons a year of alumina. Around two tons of alumina makes one ton of aluminum metal.