Rusal to launch trial production of 1.5 t of scandium from red mud in late 2025, might expand to 19 t

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Rusal plans to launch a trial facility to produce 1.55 tonnes of scandium oxide per year at the end of 2025, the Russian aluminum giant reported.

The facility is being built at Rusal's Bogoslovsk Aluminum Smelter in Krasnoturyinsk, Sverdlovsk Region at a cost of about 500 million rubles. The raw material will be red mud, a waste generated in alumina production.

"In future, with the transition to commercial production, scandium oxide production volumes could be increased to 19 tonnes per year," Rusal said.

Scandium, a rare earth metal, is produced mainly in the form of scandium oxide, global production of which fluctuates in the range of 20-25 tonnes per year. Even at the trial stage, the project will enable Rusal to become one of the world's largest producers of scandium oxide.

Rusal, one of the world's largest aluminum producers, has developed and rolled out aluminum-scandium alloys that are used to make superlight products in civilian shipbuilding, railcar manufacturing and 3D printing of high-tech prosthetics.

"Scandium is one of the so-called trace elements that are contained in microscopic concentrations in various ores. Their extraction is a complex and often economically unviable process. Rusal is the only company in the world developing technology to extract scandium oxide from red mud. Globally, it is primarily produced as a by-product in production of titanium or uranium dioxide," the company said.

The main application for scandium oxide is production of solid oxide fuel cells for electrochemical current generators. Scandium makes alloys stronger, making it possible to reduce the weight of the end product compared to analogs with conventional alloys. This is an important advantage in many areas where aluminum is used, including transport engineering, where reducing vehicle weight is a global trend, Rusal said.