Rusal Ups Output By 55% At Irkutsk Aluminum Smelter

LONDON (Dow Jones)-Production capacity at the Irkutsk aluminum smelter in Shelekhov, Russia, has been hiked by 55% to 460,000 metric tons a year, the plant’s owner UC Rusal said Wednesday.

The increase in capacity comes amid the launch of a new potline at a total cost of over $600 million, the company noted.

Construction of the new potline has been completed within three years and production is expected to be at capacity by the end of 2008.

UC Rusal said the new potline is part of the company’s plan to "turn plants built 40 or 60 years ago into modern enterprises that match western ecological and technical standards, by using our own progressive in-house technologies."

The Russian company was founded in March 2007 through the merger of Rusal, Sual, and the alumina assets of Switzerland’s Glencore International.