How alumina from a Limerick refinery enters Russia’s weapons supply chain
Alumina made in Aughinish is exported to smelters that sell aluminium to a trader supplying Russian arms manufacturers
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Show Notes
A new investigation has shown the supply chain link between Russian missiles – ones used to deadly effect in Ukraine – and a factory in Limerick.
Aughinish Alumina was built near the Shannon Estuary in the 1980s to make alumina using raw bauxite from Guinea and Brazil.
A major employer in the area, it changed hands in 2006 when it was bought by a company called Rusal which at the time was controlled by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaskaa.
It has become one of the Europe’s biggest sources of the vital raw material. Alumina is a key part of the car and aircraft industry. It is also the bedrock of much of the weapons industry.
As part of an in-depth investigation, Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Gallagher traced the exports from the Limerick factory and explains why when the EU looked to sanction any industry which might be helpful to the Russian war machine, Aughinish Alumina was given a pass.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair.
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