Russians eye aluminium assets abroad
March 17, 2004
Sydney - OAO Russian Aluminium, which produces one-eighth of the world's aluminium, said it held talks about acquiring assets that may be sold by governments in India and Nigeria.
India was planning to sell 60 percent of the National Aluminium Company, though the Business Standard reported that the proposal was cancelled. Nigeria would decide by April 14 on a buyer for a majority stake in the Aluminum Smelting Company, according to news agencies.
Rusal, as the Russian company is known, planned to spend more than $7 billion (R46.2 billion) over the next 10 years on new plants, smelter upgrades and acquisitions, billionaire Oleg Deripaska, the Moscow-based controlling shareholder, said last month.
"We've been talking to companies in Nigeria," Steven Hodgson, managing director of Rusal's alumina division, said at the Asia-Pacific Alumina and Aluminum Summit in Sydney. He didn't give specific details of the talks or say when they might be concluded.
BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto Group, Alcoa and Hindalco Industries have also said they may bid for National Aluminium.
Rusal increased primary aluminum production by 4.3 percent to 2.6 million tons last year.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto said it planned to study boosting capacity at its new $1 billion alumina refinery in Australia, joining Alcan considering expansion as demand soars.
The first stage of the 1.4 million tons-a-year plant would be completed this year, though capacity may rise to 4 million tons, said Hubie van Dalsen, managing director of mining and refining at Rio's Comalco unit.
Alcan could decide later this year on a A$1.5 billion (R7.4 billion) expansion in northern Australia, said Richard Yank, president of Alcan's Australian bauxite and alumina operations.
Rio and Alcan are considering adding alumina capacity after Chinese aluminium production jumped 25 percent last year, boosting demand for the material used to make the metal and leading to a doubling in prices.
Rio's Comalco Alumina Refinery at Gladstone in Queensland state is 75 percent finished and will start shipping in early 2005, Van Dalsen said.
The Anglo-Australian miner is the world's ninth-biggest aluminium maker and also ninth-largest in alumina, according to Merrill Lynch.
Alcan was considering expanding its Gove alumina refinery in Australia to produce 3.5 million tons a year, from 2 million tons a year, Yank said. The Montreal-based company's board might decide on the project early in the third quarter, he said. - Bloomberg
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