DUSHANBE, October 18, Asia-Plus -- The Russian aluminum giant Russian Aluminum (RusAl) has reported the results of its work in the first nine months of the year.

Aleskandr Kasatkin, a spokesman for RusAl in Dushanbe, said that compared to the same period last year the company has increased its aluminum production by 2% over the past nine months, bringing it to nearly 2.068 million metric tons. 

According to him, the output of high value-added casthouse products went up 12.5% and amounted to 716,516 tons. Alumina production grew 2.1% to 2.95 million tons, and bauxite output rose 28.6% to 5.4 million tons.

The RusAl office said that the growth in output of aluminum and high value-added casthouse products resulted from RusAl''s ongoing programs to bolster production, modernize equipment and improve the technical and economic performance of its smelter operations.

A 2.1% increase in aluminum output was driven by the acquisition of a 20% stake in the QAL Refinery in Australia in April 2005, as well as by modernization of the Nikolayev Alumina Refinery in Ukraine.

The acquisition of Aroaima Mining Company in Guyana, participation in the Komi Aluminium project, and a production increase at Compagnie des Bauxites de Kindia in Guinea secured a 28.6% year-on-year rise in bauxite output in the first nine months of the year.

RusAl signed an agreement last week with the Russian aluminum company SUAL and Swiss-based Glencore, the world''s largest supplier of commodities and raw materials to industrial consumers, to form the United Company Russian Aluminum.

The merger, which aims to produce more than 11 million tons of primary aluminum a year, secures the new company 12% of the world''s primary aluminum market. RusAl will have a 66% stake in the corporation, while SUAL will hold 22% and Glencore 12%.

Rusal is the world''s third largest primary aluminum producer, providing primary aluminum and value-added casthouse products to customers in 50 countries.  With operations in nine regions of Russia and 13 countries globally, RUSAL now accounts for 75 per cent of aluminum production in Russia and 10 per cent internationally. Rusal was established in March 2000 through a merger of several of the largest aluminum smelters and aluminum refineries in the CIS, is headquartered in Moscow and has 47 000 employees.