RUSAL completes large scale casthouse modernization programme at aluminium smelters

UC RUSAL reports the completion of a large scale casthouse modernization programme at four of its aluminium smelters: Sayanogorsk, Krasnoyarsk, Bratsk and Novokuznetsk. The investment in the project amounted to approximately $130 mln. The value-added casthouse production has increased almost tenfold and today accounts for more than 50% of all aluminium production.

The modernization programme was initiated by RUSAL in 2002. The project was aimed at increasing the share of value added products to 50% of total production volumes, increasing the variety of casthouse products, including rolled and cylindrical ingot, silicon alloys for automotive uses, highly pure alloys for the electrical engineering industry, and rolled wire.

Commenting on the results, Viktor Zirnakov, the head of UC RUSAL aluminium division said: “The modernization programme has allowed us to put into production over 250 new alloys, enter new markets and significantly increase our client base. We have dramatically increased exports to Asia due to automotive disc alloys, and increased the supply of alloys for the construction industry. We continue to develop new alloys together with our clients. These alloys will become the basis for new transportation vehicles, packaging and construction materials, reducing the ecological impact and helping to mitigate climate change.”

In the framework of the modernization programme the following efforts have taken place at the UC RUSAL aluminium smelters:

Sayanogorsk Aluminium Smelter
• Investment – about $40 mln.
• Modernization of two casthouse machines producing 6xxx ingot has been completed. The capacity has increased from 30 thousand to 196 thousand tn per year.
• Homogenization oven has been built.
• Modernization of two casthouse machines producing flat-shaped ingot (foil quality) has been completed. The production capacity has increased to 140 thousand tn per year.
• Modernization of production line for making of automotive disc alloys has been completed.

Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Smelter
• Investments – about $35 mln.
• Two casthouse machines with the capacity of over 200 thousand tonnes of flat-shaped ingot per annum have been built. The ingots are used for the production of aluminium foil and cans.
• Two cutting metal lines for flat-shaped ingot and T-shaped ingot have been installed. The overall capacity of two cutting lines is 500 thousands tonnes per annum.
• The modernization of several casthouse complexes has been delivered achieving the goal of increasing production of casthouse products from 25 to 120 thousand tn per year.

Bratsk Aluminium Smelter
• Investments – over $20 mln.
• Modernization of two casthouse machines for producing flat-shaped ingot from Al-Mg and Al-Mn alloys has been completed. The capacity has increased from 15 thousand to 100 thousand tn per year.
• Casthouse machine has been built to produce ingot from Al-Mg5% alloy. The capacity of the casthouse machine is 120 thousands tonnes per year.
• A new cutting metal line for flat-shaped ingot has been installed. The overall capacity of the cutting line is 300 thousand tonnes per year.

Novokuznetsk Aluminium Smelter
• Investments – over $30 mln.
• New casthouse machine with the capacity of 90 thousand tonnes of 6xxx ingot per annum has been built.
• Homogenization oven has been built.
• Piston alloy Al-Si-Cu-Ni has been put into production with overall capacity of 25 thousand tonnes per year.

Today, RUSAL’s aluminium smelters benefit from the most up-to-date equipment from leading producers, such as: horizontal caster (Hertwich, Austria), casthouse furnishing for flat-shaped ingot (Hycast, Norway and Wagstaff, USA), ingot casting line (Brochot, France), degassing equipment (Pyrotek, USA), polishing filter (Mitsui, Japan, and Novelis, USA), and cutting metal line (SERMAS, France) and others.

In addition to the modernization of casthouse production capacities, renovation of laboratories and full-scale modernization of production control were also completed.