For the current fiscal year, the Jamaican Government expects the value of mining earnings from bauxite and alumina to improve to US$507 million ($77 billion), seven per cent higher than fiscal year 2020-2021, with the August 2022 reopening of the Jamalco plant.

However, UC Rusal, the Russian alumina conglomerate which owns 52 per cent of local alumina production, is once again in the cross-hairs of US and European sanctions linked to the Russia-Ukraine war.

In Jamaica the mining and quarrying industry contracted by 62.5 per cent last year due mainly to the closure of the Jamaica Alumina Company (Jamalco) plant in August 2021 because of a fire. A rebound was expected, but now the US is considering restrictions on Russian aluminium imports. Some companies have said they will stop buying Russian aluminium and others, such as US producer Alcoa (AA.N), are lobbying for measures against Russian metal Reuters — a news agency — indicates.

Metals trade hub the London Metal Exchange (LME) is asking members if it should ban Russian material from its system.

Overall, Russia’s Rusal produces around 6 per cent of the world’s aluminium. This metal has not been targeted by Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

In Jamaica UC Rusal currently holds majority shares in West Indies Alumina Company (Windalco) which has plants at Ewarton, St Catherine, and Kirkvine, Manchester.

Reuters on October 24 reported that five European industry associations are urging European authorities to prevent sanctions, tariffs or boycotts against Russian aluminium that they said could put thousands of companies out of business.

The five associations are listed as the Federation of Aluminium Consumers in Europe (FACE), the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade (BWA), the Italian Foundry Suppliers’ Association (Amafond), the Italian National Association of Steels, Metals, Scrap, Hardware (Assofermet), and the Italian Foundry Association (Assofond).

In a joint statement, the associations said they sent a letter to EU authorities and “requested the urgent intervention of the European Commission and of EU member states against threats of bans, high tariffs or sanctions on Russian aluminium which represent an imminent and vital threat to the European aluminium industry.”

Reuters notes how European industry is under pressure from high inflation and rapidly slowing economic growth, while high energy prices have led to the closure of more than a million tonnes of aluminium production in Europe since 2021.

When in 2018 the United States sanctioned Rusal and the LME blocked its metal, aluminium prices climbed up 35 per cent .