RUSAL Launches Production of Rare-Earth Metal Scandium

Moscow, 27 February 2025 – RUSAL, one of the world's largest aluminium producers, is setting up a pilot production facility for scandium oxide with an annual capacity of 1.5 tonnes. Scandium is a valuable rare earth metal, and RUSAL was the first in the world to develop and implement aluminium-scandium alloys. These alloys are used in the production of ultra-lightweight components for civil shipbuilding, railway car manufacturing, and 3D printing of high-tech prosthetics. The total global production of scandium oxide is estimated at 20-25 tonnes per year.

A pilot facility for the production of 1,550 kg of scandium oxide per year is being built at RUSAL’s Bogoslovsky Aluminium Smelter (Krasnoturyinsk, Sverdlovsk Region). The facility is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2025. Already at its pilot stage, this project will position the Company among the world's leading scandium oxide producers.

RUSAL will make scandium oxide from red mud, a by-product of alumina production at the Bogoslovsky Aluminium Smelter. The technology for extracting scandium oxide from red mud was developed by the RUSAL Engineering and Technology Centre, the technology for the project was also designed by RUSAL. The investment in the project amounts to 500 mln roubles. With the transition to commercial production, scandium oxide production volumes can increase to 19 tonnes per year.