Rusal

What it is

Rusal (officially UC Rusal PJSC) is Russia's only primary aluminium producer and the world's largest outside China, accounting for approximately 5.9% of global primary output in 2024. Headquartered in Moscow, the company runs the complete production chain: bauxite mining in Guinea and Jamaica, alumina refining in Ireland and Jamaica, and aluminium smelting across multiple facilities in Siberia and elsewhere in Russia powered primarily by hydroelectric dams. More than 90% of Rusal's metal is produced with renewable electricity, giving it a carbon footprint below 4 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per tonne, marketed under the ALLOW brand. EN+ Group, a Russian energy and metals holding company, is the controlling shareholder with approximately 57% of Rusal's ordinary shares.

History

Rusal was founded in 2000 through a merger of Oleg Deripaska's Siberian Aluminium Group and Roman Abramovich's Millhouse Capital, combining roughly three-quarters of Russia's aluminium output. In 2007, it merged with Sual Group and Glencore's alumina assets to form United Company RUSAL, making it briefly the largest aluminium producer in the world by volume. The enlarged entity listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January 2010.

On April 6, 2018, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Rusal, EN+ Group, and related companies because Deripaska owned or controlled them, and Deripaska was designated the same day for activities benefiting the Russian state. Global aluminium prices spiked sharply in the days that followed. After Deripaska reduced his EN+ stake below 50% and EN+ restructured its board governance, OFAC delisted En+, Rusal, and EuroSibEnergo on January 27, 2019; Deripaska remained personally sanctioned. The European Union separately designated UC Rusal PJSC in 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, restricting access to European capital markets and new EU-buyer sales; Rusal redirected volumes to Asian markets.

Current state

Rusal produced 3.918 million tonnes of primary aluminium in 2025, down 1.9% from 3.992 million tonnes in 2024. Bauxite production grew 16.2% to 18.453 million tonnes and alumina output rose 6.7% to 6.858 million tonnes. Revenue for 2025 was approximately US$14.8 billion, up 22.6%, but the company posted a net loss of US$455 million, driven primarily by a US$431 million exchange-rate loss on the strengthening Russian ruble. In 2024, by contrast, net profit had been US$803 million.

The EU cut Rusal's preferential import quota from 275,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes for February-December 2026, displacing roughly 225,000 tonnes of low-tariff Russian aluminium from the EU market; details are in الصين تقترب من سقف صهر الألمنيوم البالغ 45 مليون طن مع خفض حصة روسال في الاتحاد الأوروبي إلى 50,000 طن؛ متوسط سعر الألمنيوم في بورصة لندن للمعادن 2,680 دولاراً للطن في النصف الأول من 2026. In parallel, تحقيقات كشفت أن أكثر من نصف صادرات مصفاة أوغينيش للألومينا عادت إلى روسيا رغم العقوبات الأوروبية؛ بروكسل تضغط على أيرلندا لسد الثغرة exposed a structural gap: Rusal's Aughinish Alumina refinery in County Limerick, Ireland, operated through a non-sanctioned Irish-registered subsidiary, with OCCRP documenting in May 2026 that more than half of its alumina output was reaching Russian-connected buyers. Rusal's most recent greenfield smelter, the Taishet facility in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, entered commercial operation in late 2021, adding 428,000 tonnes per year of hydropower-based capacity.

Relationships

EN+ Group holds approximately 57% of Rusal's ordinary shares. Deripaska, personally sanctioned by both the US Treasury and the EU, retains indirect exposure through his EN+ stake, which OFAC conditions cap below 50% of EN+. Since Western capital markets closed after 2022, Russian state banks including Sberbank and VTB have served as primary lenders. Guinea is a critical bauxite source, with Rusal holding mining rights at several Guinean deposits. Rusal's metal is priced via the London Metal Exchange; LME-registered Rusal aluminium remains tradable in most jurisdictions despite EU designations of the Russian parent. The الاتحاد الأوروبي يحظر التعاملات عبر ميناء مورمانسك لكن النيكل الروسي ما زال يصل إلى الأسواق الغربية؛ إنتاج نورنيكل يهبط بحدة في الربع الأول وتُسرّع محادثات مشروع نحاس مشترك مع الصين case documents the same structural parallel: EU-based processing assets owned through non-sanctioned subsidiaries, a gap Brussels has not closed through any sanctions package to date.

What to watch

Whether the EU's 21st sanctions package designates Rusal's Irish-registered subsidiary and closes the Aughinish ownership gap, removing approximately 1.8 million tonnes per year of European alumina refining capacity. Whether Rusal's 2026 financials recover from the 2025 ruble-driven loss, given that ruble weakening in H1 2026 reduces translation drag on dollar revenues. Whether the EU 50,000-tonne Rusal quota limit extends beyond December 2026, deepening the structural shift of Russian aluminium toward Asian markets. And whether the global aluminium supply balance tips further as Rusal routes more volume toward Chinese buyers while LME prices rise.