UC Rusal has suspended operations at Russia's biggest alumina plant in Achinsk due to a series of blasts at a Russian military base nearby, sources close to the matter told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 6.
Market participants said that a fire broke out at a nearby military base and an explosion was heard, which led Rusal - the largest aluminium producer outside China - to suspend its operations at the Achinsk refinery. The Achinsk alumina refinery has the capacity to produce 1.07 million tonnes per year of material, market participants told Fastmarkets. Alumina production at Achinsk totaled 851,000 tonnes in 2018, a 10% decrease from the 945,000 tonnes produced the prior year.It is not immediately clear how long operations at Achinsk will be suspended or how much production will be affected by the stoppage. Rusal declined to comment...