Moscow, 20 December — RUSAL, one of the world's leading aluminium producers, announced today that its Achinsk alumina refinery has received the ISO 14001 environmental management system certification. Det Norske Veritas (DNV) of Norway, an independent registrar organization, carried out the assessment.

«We are pleased that another RUSAL plant has received the ISO 14001 certification,» Steve Hodgson, Managing Director, Alumina Division, said. «Environmental management has been an essential part of RUSAL's plant management program since the company was established. We continue our commitment to minimizing the environmental impact of our operations, and see certification as an important part of this effort.»

The environmental management certification of RUSAL's plants began in 2000. Since then, according to estimates from Russian Ecoline, RUSAL has established itself as the leader among Russian industrial companies in terms of number of production units that have received the ISO 14001 certification.

The Achinsk alumina refinery is the ninth RUSAL production unit to receive the certification. The other RUSAL facilities which have been certified include the ROSTAR beverage can plant, Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk, Sayanogorsk aluminium smelters, RUSAL Sayanal, and the Samara and Dmitrov metallurgical plants. All remaining RUSAL plants are in various stages of assessment designed to lead to certification.

RUSAL's commitment to certification is also in line with the International Aluminium Institute's goal to have 95% of all aluminium plants ISO 14001 certified by 2010.

About RUSAL

RUSAL, a world leader in aluminium production was formed in March 2000 from the merger of a number of the 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.

About Achinsk Alumina Refinery

Achinsk Alumina Refinery, Russia’s second largest alumina-producing plant, was built in 1970. Located in the Krasnoyarsk Region, the refinery benefits from a proximity to both raw materials from the Kiya-Shantyr nepheline deposit in Kemerovo Region and the main consumers of its products: Krasnoyarsk and Bratsk Aluminum Smelters. In 2003, Achinsk produced 1.052 mln. tonnes of alumina.

For International Press

Zhenia Harrison
zharrison@rusal.ru

For Russian Press

Vera Kurochkina
Elena Shanina
Press-center@rusal.ru