Rio Tinto, Sumitomo to make low-carbon alumina at Queensland refinery

The comments come a week after Bloomberg News reported that the Biden administration is considering an outright ban of Russian aluminum.

Possible sanctions on Russian metal, lawsuits, a battle to recover trust and a slump in nickel trading after the March fiasco are just some of the headwinds facing the LME.

Stocks of aluminum in LME warehouses jumped 65,825 tonnes to 433,025 tonnes on Friday.

Metal industry sources say there is concern that Rusal will be unable to sell its metal and will deliver it into the LME system.

The chairman of EN+ dismissed media reports that Washington is weighing restricting imports of Russian metal.

Just as Aurubis and Codelco aim to grab market share in Europe by replacing Russian metal, they risk losing market share in Asia if large amounts of Russian copper are displaced from the European market.

The LME is undertaking a three-week discussion process to consider banning new deliveries of Russian supplies.

Separately, Alcoa asked the London Metal Exchange to delist Russian aluminum.

News that the US may target Russian aluminum in retaliation for attacks in Ukraine is sending shivers through the global metals market.