Sunday, 14 Mar 2010
Reuters reported that UC RUSAL has restarted some of the idled capacity at its Novokuznetsk smelter in Siberia, in line with plans to raise output this year.

Mr Artyom Volynets RUSAL's deputy CEO of for strategy said that it planned to restart 100,000 tonnes of idle capacity by the end of the Q1 as global consumption enters the Phase II of recovery.

UC RUSAL said in a statement that output at the Novokuznetsk smelter would reach approximately 253,000 tonnes in 2010 or 10% more than last year. Capacity at the No 1 site at NkAZ was suspended in March 2009. UC RUSAL said that 183 pots at the site had already been brought back on line and that a total of 264 pots would be operational by the end of April.

Mr Volynets said that most of this capacity was in Siberia, with some additional capacity also coming on stream in Sweden and Nigeria.

(Sourced from Reuters)