Moscow, May 19, 2017 – UC RUSAL (SEHK: 486, Euronext: RUSAL/RUAL, Moscow Exchange: RUAL/RUALR), a leading global aluminium producer, announces the completion of retrofitting of Boksitogorsk Alumina Refinery. Investments in the project amounted to 1.65 million dollars.
Within the project, which lasted from October 2015 to May 2017, modern crushing and dressing equipment was installed to increase the output of corundum products to 79,000 tonnes. In particular, the volume of production of the refractory materials will be increased by 6,000 tonnes, of the abrasive - by 4,000 tonnes per year.
Corundum is a refractory and chemically superhard material based on aluminum oxide, which is used in the metallurgical industry for the production of abrasive materials and refractories, as well as in machine building.
The newly commissioned complex is a Russian design developed specifically for Boksitogorsk Alumina Refinery. The modernization of the production will ensure the production of products meeting the requirements of the export market, which for four months of 2017 accounts for 50% of all sales of Boksitogorsk Alumina Refinery.
'The opening of a new industrial site at the Boksitogorsk Alumina Refinery is important for the entire metallurgical industry of the Russian Federation, because this production facility produces about 100 different corundum products: abrasive grain and powders, thin section powders, fire-resistant course fractions, unshaped fire-resistant composites. The introduction of the new technology improves the working conditions for the workers of the production facility and meets environmental standards', noted Vladislav Soloviov, CEO of UC RUSAL.
As of the end of 2016 the shipments of corundum products made up 69 thousand tonnes, which is the best indicator in the history of the production facility. The reason for the sales increase was the improvement in the quality of the finished product, the increased demand for fire-resistant fractions of corundum products in the domestic market, and the increases demand from the foreign consumers, including European consumers.