The Nigerian government and Russian aluminum company Rusal are in talks about restarting the Alscon smelter in Nigeria, which was shut down because it was losing money ten years ago.
Before Rusal ceased it in early 2013, Alscon produced 22,000 tons of aluminum in 2012, or 11% of its annual production capacity, as a result of an unreliable gas supply and low aluminum prices.
As the Nigerian government works to restart production at Alscon, Vice President Kashim Shettima of Nigeria met with Rusal’s management this week on the margins of the Russia-Africa meeting in St. Petersburg, according to a statement from his office.
“Everyone will benefit more quickly if we can restart this factory. The Nigerian people demand better, so we must walk the talk, Shettima was reported as saying in the release.
Rusal, which produced 3.8 million tons of aluminum in 2022, acknowledged the conversations but gave no other information.
It controls 85% of Alscon, with the Nigerian government holding the remaining 5%.
