Moscow, 18 March 2003 – Russian Aluminium (RUSAL) today announced the appointment of Duncan Hedditch as managing director of Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Smelter (KrAZ). He succeeds Ilay Akhmetov who has been named Director of RUSAL’s recently established Construction Directorate.

The new Construction Directorate will be responsible for the development and implementation of RUSAL’s group wide modernisation programme, focusing on existing expansion plans and the construction of new facilities. Among the goals are the expansion of RUSAL’s Sayanogorsk smelter and new facilities planned for the Irkutsk and Murmansk areas. Mr. Akhmetov was named the head of KrAZ in May 2002 and will be nominated for election to the  KrAZ's  Board of Directors.at the next shareholder meeting, scheduled for May. Once elected to the Board Mr. Akhmetov will retain his role in the plant’s strategic development.

Mr.Hedditch joined RUSAL in May 2002 as Executive Director at KrAZ. Prior to his move to RUSAL, he was the General Manager, Operations, at the Rio Tinto-owned Comalco aluminium smelter at Bell Bay in Australia. He has worked in engineering, marketing and general management positions for both Alcoa and Rio Tinto. Since his arrival at KrAZ, Mr.Hedditch has been heavily involved in designing the facilities’ new management structure.

“These high calibre appointments continue to underline RUSAL’s commitment to building KrAZ into one of Russia’s premier industrial facilities, and the group as a whole into the world leader in primary aluminium production. Duncan Hedditch’s expertise and experience opens a fantastic opportunity to complete the process of modernizing KrAZ into a world-class smelter, able to compete on equal terms with Western manufacturers.  Ilay Akhmetov’s experience makes him the obvious choice to lead the Construction Directorate as a center of excellence in sharing skills and best-practice expertise across the group.” said RUSAL COO Alexander Boulygine.
 
Biographical details:

Ilay Akhmetov, 46, graduated from Krasnoyarsk Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals in 1978. After working as a foreman in the local smelter’s electrolysis section, he moved to Saynogorsk in 1984, where he spent 14 years, ultimately heading the aluminium production department. Mr.Akhmetov served as Arbitration Manager at JSC Molybdenum in Sorsk (Siberia) at a time when the company was under external arbitration management in bankruptcy. He held various jobs at Achinsk Alumina Refinery and was named Achinsk’s General Director in 2001.

Duncan Hedditch, 48, graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a B.Eng.(Com) degree in 1974. After working in the electronics, telecommunications and mining industries in Australia and Holland, he joined Alcoa Australia in 1980. He held a series of positions in engineering, information systems and production management, working in both US and Australian operations. In 1994 he joined Rio Tinto’s Comalco subsidiary and held positions in Engineering, Marketing, and Operations management in both New Zealand and Australia. He was appointed General Manager, Sales and Marketing, in 1996, and General Director of the Bell Bay Smelter in 1999.

About RUSAL
RUSAL is the second largest primary aluminium producer in the world, formed in March 2000 from the merger of a number of largest smelters and other aluminium producers located in the CIS.  The Company accounts for 75% of Russia's primary aluminium output and 10% of the global primary aluminium output. RUSAL is a fully vertically integrated company with a complete production cycle from bauxite mining and the production of raw materials, to the production of primary metal, semi-products and aluminium-based end products. RUSAL is headquartered in Moscow.

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For further information:
Russian Aluminium:
www.RUSAL.com
Eugenia Harrison, Moscow, +7 095 720 5170, or zharrison@rusal.ru;
Fred Harrison, London, +44 (0) 20 7431 7517, or fharrison@ansdellconsult.com;
Stan Neve, New York, +1 212 333 3810, or sneve@brunswickgroup.com