The Taishet smelter that is now being constructed by RUSAL in the Irkutsk region will add 750,000
tonnes to the company’s overall production capacity. Upon completion, the new hi-tech facility will
become one of RUSAL’s key Siberian assets. The smelter’s proximity to Asia will enable RUSAL
to ensure fast and secure deliveries of the facility’s products to the world’s largest and fastest
growing aluminium markets.
A feasibility study for the smelter’s construction was designed by the international engineering
company Bechtel Corporation together with RUSAL’s Engineering and Construction Division.
The smelter will be equipped with energy efficient RA-400Т reduction cells, developed by the
company’s Engineering and Technological Centre. RA-400Т is currently one of the most powerful
cells globally – it can produce around 3 tonnes of aluminium daily. The Taishet smelter capacities
will include four potrooms, a casthouse, an anode plant, as well as energy generating units and
relevant infrastructure.
The Taishet smelter construction was started in 2007. The construction site is located between the
cities of Taishet and Talaya, in the West of the Irkutsk region. The place was chosen to mitigate the
facility’s impact on the region’s environment. RUSAL is considering an opportunity to construct a
railway leg between the smelter and the Taishet station that would help to enhance logistics.
The public hearings on the Social and Environmental Impact Assessment of the Taishet smelter
construction took place in March 2005. Most of the participants approved the construction project.
In February 2008, the project was approved by Russia’s national expert body Glavgosexpertiza.
The Taishet smelter was designed to ensure environment-friendly operations. The facility will be
equipped with the up-to-date dry gas scrubbers and automated alumina point feeders that will help to
reduce harmful emissions.
Once completed, the Taishet facility will create over 3,000 jobs. RUSAL plans to build around
150,000 square meters of housing for the smelter employees. Furthermore, the company intends to
construct utility, social, cultural and welfare infrastructure facilities in the region.
As of today, the temporary construction base is almost completed, the concrete plant has been
commissioned and the warehouses for equipment storage have been put in place. The company
has started the construction of automobile roads and railway links. Furthermore, the company has
begun to build a water supply and sewerage network and assemble metal structures for the smelter
construction.
The Taishet smelter construction was suspended in late 2008 due to the global economic recession
and a drop in demand for aluminium. RUSAL is now is talks to raise funds to finance the project.
The facility construction should be resumed in 2011.