UC RUSAL Acquired Cathode Plant in China

Moscow, March 20 - UC RUSAL, the world’s largest aluminum and alumina producer, is pleased to announce that it has acquired the Baoguang cathode plant in shanxi province of China, and the company plans to invest 20 million dollars on expansion of the captive. Sources released that UC RUSUAL’s capacity can only meet 30% for its cathode blocks demand, while the expansion could entail its self-sufficiency level to 60%, as the annual capacity of the plant is 9,300 tons, and US RUSAL intends to double the capacity of the plant to 20,900 tons by 2010. The Baoguang plant, located 600 km from Beijing, was set up in 2001. It specializes in production of cathode blocks, which are a key component of the electrolytic cells required to produce aluminium. The plant is now the second asset owned by UC RUSAL in China following the purchase in April 2006 of a 15,000 tonne-a-year cathode plant in the Linshi district of the Shanxi Province. Products from the Chinese plants could meet the demand for cathode blocks from UC RUSAL’s smelters in Siberia. UC RUSAL, one of the largest aluminum producers, takes up 12% of the global aluminum markets and 15% of the global alumina markets with production exported to 70 countries in the world. The company was established in 2007 comprised the assets of Rusal, Sual and Swiss-based Glencore.