The company's ‘Treatment of aluminium in Crucible' (TAC) system washes crude aluminium in a 10t crucible, with alkaline and alkaline earth metals removed and the concentration of nonmetallic inclusions also reduced.

The automated system, which cost about US$2.7 million, will "result in an expansion in both the share of alloys and the value-added products produced at KhAZ", noted the company.

"Improving the quality and purity of the products is a key goal in our modernisation programme, that is currently being carried out across RUSAL's production facilities. The TAC cleaning system … not only reduces metallurgical losses, but also decreases the personnel workload as the process can be completed through automation", said RUSAL chief executive Evgenii Nikitin.

Nikitin added the system has been operating for two years at the Sayanogorsk aluminum plant.

The unit will be commissioned within a month, with tests using heated metal to be performed ahead of commercial operations being launched by the end of 2020.