Christopher Burnham, chairman of En+ Group, considered the world’s leading producer of low carbon aluminium and independent hydropower, has hit back at Bloomberg for publishing an article on 12 October. 

The article made a series of allegations that related to En+ Group’s relations to Russia and sanction compliance.

On the basis of the news from Bloomberg the London Metal Exchange (LME) price for aluminium immediately jumped $165.00 and closed $69.00 higher based on speculation.

Mr Burnham said: “The article is simply wrong.  We remain in full compliance with OFAC’s requirements including the Terms of Removal agreed in 2018 and we are committed to fulfilling our contracts in the USA and worldwide.  When the US sanctioned RUSAL aluminum in that year, the LME price jumped 29% and there was a scramble to find alternative material by US manufacturers.”

He continued: “Irresponsible market speculation of this sort only benefits our competitors who have publicly advocated for restricting our market access, but hurts the American consumer and the US economy – risking more than 164,000 direct and 470,000 indirect jobs in potentially affected downstream industries, including aerospace, automotive, truck trailer, packaging and healthcare goods, building and construction, and solar & wind power generation.

“It hurts customers too, potentially adding thousands of dollars to the prices of cars and trucks.  We know wire and cable producers are already suffering by paying an inflated price for Russian origin wire rods with 45% duty. Wire and cable producers are vital contributors of decarbonisation in the USA, supplying their products to solar and wind projects along with standard overhand-conductors”