Sanctions with interest: Rusal seeks $1.3 billion from Rio Tinto and takes aim at Mongolian copper

In 2022, citing Australian sanctions, Rio Tinto cut Rusal off from Queensland Alumina, an alumina refinery in Queensland in which the Russian aluminium producer held a 20% stake. In 2024 an Australian court found that lawful. A Russian court has now reached the opposite conclusion.

The Arbitration Court of the Kaliningrad Region ordered the mining group to pay $1.278 billion in damages and levied execution on 66% of Oyu Tolgoi LLC, the operator of the copper mine in Mongolia. The ruling was upheld on appeal. The case was heard behind closed doors; its substance became public through a ruling of the Arbitration Court of the North-Western District dated 7 September 2026.

Oyu Tolgoi is one of the four largest copper deposits in the world; the Financial Times has valued the project at $18 billion. On that basis Rio Tinto's stake is worth almost $12 billion against a debt of $1.3 billion. Nobody will hand over the whole stake: according to Rusal, if the ruling is enforced in Mongolia, part of the stake could be auctioned and the proceeds used to cover the damages.

Rusal's position. The company says it was unlawfully denied access to the refinery's output and is seeking compensation. It filed the claim in Kaliningrad in April 2025.

Rio Tinto's position. Its subsidiary RTA Holdco Australia 5 has filed a cassation appeal, asking for the case to be sent back for a fresh hearing before a different panel. The company points out that Australian courts found its actions consistent with the sanctions regime and says it will defend its rights.

The decisive battle will not be in Russia. The remaining 34% of the operator belongs to the Mongolian state, and recognition of the Russian ruling is a matter for a Mongolian court under a 1999 treaty on legal assistance between the two countries. Under the shareholder agreement, the co-owner may have a right of first refusal on the shares; whether that clause applies will also be for the Mongolian court to decide.

One further detail: the case file includes an application to assign the claim to a company called Selena-M. It was set up in November 2025, and its shareholders have not been disclosed.

Lawyers interviewed by Kommersant expect years of litigation and suggest the ruling may be used mainly as leverage in negotiations. Rusal is unlikely to end up owning the mine. But in any talks with Rio Tinto it now holds an argument worth twelve billion dollars.

Another dispute. Rusal is also fighting a corporate battle at home: its shareholder SUAL is challenging the board's refusal to put SUAL's proposed charter amendments to a shareholder vote, with the board citing Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing rules. Russia's Supreme Court will hear the case on 10 November.

Kurs Media editorial team. Corrections and statements from the parties: press@kursmedia.com. Read in Russian.