Rio Tinto sees US sanctions on Russia potentially disrupting aluminium supply

Possible US sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis may affect Russia’s aluminium industry, Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm said on Wednesday.

“It is a very difficult situation … Specifically in our business, there could be disruptions primarily in the aluminium industry if we are going to see sanctions,” Stausholm told reporters on a results call.

“You could also see disruptions in the steel industry, but probably less so,” he said.

The world’s second largest miner posted on Wednesday its best ever annual profit and a record full-year dividend of $16.8 billion, boosted by higher iron ore prices and strong demand from top consumer China.

(By Praveen Menon; Editing by Tom Hogue)