MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1978-79980 
 
Table 7.—U.S.S.R.: Imports of mineral commoditiesl —Continued

(Metric tons unless otherwise specified( 
(Users are cautioned that some data are incomplete; see footnote 1) 
Commodity 
1977 
1978 
Principal sources, 1978 
MINERAL FUELS AND RELATED MATERIALS 
 
 
 
—Continued 
 
 
 
Mineral tar and other coal-, petroleum-, or gasderived crude chemicals  
               
11,449 
63,351 
Japan 62,850.~ 
 NA Not available. 
 10wing to the lack of official data published by the U.S.S.R., this table
should not be taken as a complete presentation of the U.S.S.R's mineral imports.
Unless otherwise specified, date are compiled from the trade statistics of
individual trading partners, as well as the United Nations World Trade Annual,
Walker and Co., New York. 
 2Report of the U.S. Embassy to the U.S. Department of State on Guinea bauxite
trade, Mar. 8, 1980. 
 3Metallstatistik (Metallgesellschaft) 1968-1978, Druckerei C. Adelmann,
Frankfurt am Main. 
 40fficial trade statistics of the U.S.S.R. 
 5Less than one-half unit. 
 6In addition to the value listed, the U.S.S.R. imported 64,000 troy ounces
(value unreported) from Poland. 
 7Annual Statistical Bulletin 1978 of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries. Druck: Bors & Muller, Vienna. 
 
 
 
COMMODITY REVIEW 
 
METALS 
 
 Aluminum.—The Soviet Union, second only to the United States in
aluminum
production, operated 14 primary reduction plans, with a total probable annual
capacity of 2 million tons in January 1980. Production of alumina and aluminum
fell short of the planned increase~~ because planned goals were not reached
at the Krasnoyarsk, Regar, and several other plants, and output did not start
at the new potline at the Tadzhik plant. 
 During the 1966-75 period, the output of aluminum grew by 220%. Under the
present 5-year plan, output in 1980 was scheduled to be 20% to 30% above
the 1975 level; the regions east of the Urals are to account for the entire
increase. To achieve the goals, it is planned to put into operation several
potlines at the Tadzhik and Sayansk plants and to complete construction of
the Krasnoyarsk plant in Siberia. It is also planned to accelerate construction
of additional alumina facilities at the Bogoslovsk and Uralsk plants in the
Urals and at the Kirovabad plant in Azerbaydzhan. The Nilolayev alumina plant,
with an annual capacity of 1 million tons, was to be completed by 1980. Due
to slow construction and delays in the delivery of equipment, construction
of the first half of the Regar plant in Tadzhikistan and the first potline
at the Sayansk plant was deferred until 1980. 
 Aluminum is produced more for export than for domestic consumption, and
the U.S.S.R. has exported approximately 500,000 tons in each of the past
6 years. Primary and secondary aluminum is exported to European countries,
Japan, and the United States. Exports were expected to 
increase to about 600,000 tons in 1980. 
 The domestic wholesale price of different grades of aluminum is indicated
by the following figures from Finansy S.S.R. (July 1978): A995 grade, 2,250
rubles per ton; A95, 1,050 rubles per ton; A85, 710 rubles per ton; A0, 630
rubles per ton. 
 Construction continued at the Krasnoyarsk, Regar (Tadzhik), and Sayansk
primary aluminum plants. At Krasnoyarsk, the second largest aluminum plant
in the country, one potline (No. 14) was completed in July 1978. Construction
of the enterprise is nearing completion. The No. 2 potline at the Regar plant
was commissioned in October 1978 and No. 3 in November 1979. It was planned
to put into operation two potlines (Nos. 3 and 4) at this plant in 1979.
Output of metal at the Regar plant has increased by almost one-third. Renovation
of potlines at the Bratsk plant started in 1978. The first potline at this
plant was commissioned in 1966 and the last one (No. 18) in 1976. 
 The first potline of the Irkutsk aluminum plant was brought onstream in
1962, and the last one (No. 8) was put into operation in 1971. The total
probable capacity is 240,000 tons per year, and probable 1979 output was
200,000 tons. It is planned to increase capacity of this plant by 20% to
25% during the 1981-85 period. The plant produces aluminum wire and ingots.
About one-third of production is exported. The plant's raw material comes
from the Urals. 
 Reportedly, two contracts worth $4.3 million have been concluded between
the Soviet Union and the Italian-based company Coe e Clerici, Genoa. The
contracts provide for the supply of primary aluminum by the U.S.S.R. in exchange
for aluminum foil from the Italian company.