Exports from Europe’s largest alumina refinery remain legal, but investigators and European officials warn that the material may feed Russia’s wider military-industrial supply chain

Thunder Bay ON – International News Service – Ireland and the European Union are facing renewed calls to restrict alumina exports to Russia as shipments continue from a Russian-owned refinery on Ireland’s River Shannon.

Aughinish Alumina in County Limerick is owned by Russian metals producer Rusal. The refinery converts bauxite into alumina, which can be processed into aluminum for products ranging from cans and vehicles to aircraft, missiles, explosives and rocket fuel.

Shipping data reviewed by The Associated Press showed cargoes continuing to travel from Aughinish to St. Petersburg. The Economic Security Council of Ukraine estimates that Ireland now supplies about 17% of Rusal’s alumina after factories in Australia and Ukraine stopped serving Russia following the 2022 invasion.

The Irish government says it has found no evidence that material from Aughinish is entering military production. It has also acknowledged that it cannot prove Rusal’s assertion that the aluminum produced from Irish alumina is used only for civilian exports.

Aughinish said its product has no connection to Russia’s military supply chain and that independent monthly audits provide additional traceability. Rusal and the refinery are not currently prohibited from conducting the trade.

Other European officials are less certain. EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan said alumina shipped to Russian smelters is likely to enter the country’s military-industrial economy at least in part. The European Parliament has called for sanctions covering alumina and other strategic raw materials.

The EU’s 21st sanctions package, adopted in July, targeted Russian banks, cryptocurrency platforms, oil infrastructure, military suppliers and additional shadow-fleet vessels. It did not ban alumina exports.

Any new EU sanctions require unanimous approval from all 27 member countries. Dublin says it would consider a European Commission proposal, while opposition politicians argue that Ireland should act sooner by redirecting the refinery’s output toward European buyers.

Sources: European Parliament resolution summary; Council of the EU sanctions package