A central Queensland alumina refinery will have to navigate its way around international sanctions after the Australian government placed restrictions on two Russian oligarchs with links to the facility.
The two billionaires — Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg — are among the latest list of oligarchs and Russian banks to be slapped with sanctions by the federal government in response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The pair has business interests in Australia — including links to an alumina refinery in Gladstone.
Queensland Alumina Limited, in Gladstone, is a joint venture between Rio Tinto, which controls and has access to 80 per cent of product produced, and Russian company Rusal, which controls the other 20 per cent.
Who are Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg?
Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska was previously the president of Russian aluminium company Rusal, which has a 20 per cent share in the QAL refinery in Gladstone.
He made his fortune during the power struggle to take over Russia's lucrative aluminium industry in the 1990s and still has a stake in Rusal.
Viktor Vekselberg has a stake in Rusal through investment companies and also has interests in a company working with Origin Energy to frack the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the Australian government was deeply committed to imposing high costs on Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.
Why did the government impose sanctions now?
The federal government has been under growing pressure to sanction the oligarchs, who had already been sanctioned by the UK last week.
Dan Goche from the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, an advocacy organisation, said it was an important step as his organisation did not want to see Rusal export Australian alumina to Russia during wartime.
"There is a remote possibility that the alumina would end up in weapons manufacturing and that would be absolutely disastrous — no-one in Queensland wants that," he said.
Mr Goche said it was up to the companies as to how they quarantined Mr Deripaska and Mr Vekselberg out of the business so they were not profiting or benefiting in any way.
What do sanctions mean for workers in Gladstone?
A spokesperson for Rio Tinto said they were confident "appropriate structures" were in place to ensure operations were not disrupted at QAL because of the sanctions against Mr Deripaska and Mr Vekselberg.
They said the company was in the process of terminating all its commercial relationships with Russian businesses.
"We are also actively reviewing any existing commercial ties to Russia across our global business and are closely monitoring the situation, including the implications of trade sanctions, which we are committed to complying with," the spokesperson said.
"Queensland Alumina Limited, a joint venture with the Russian-headquartered aluminium producer Rusal, is not currently subject to sanctions.
Have sanctions previously impacted QAL?
Back in 2018, then-US president Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Mr Deripaska as part of Russia's involvement in the war in Syria.
"Our understanding is that Rio Tinto had an agreement with Rusal, when sanctions were imposed, that Rio Tinto could step in and take complete control," Mr Goche said.
"So you know, there's no real change to the day-to-day running of the business.
"And that is our expectation now — that nothing will really change."
But Mr Goche said he would like to see the federal government take a further step and sanction Rusal as a company.
"By sanctioning the company, you're essentially ruling out those exports to Russia, and you're also ruling out any kind of financial benefit for the company or its shareholders," he said.
Ms Payne said the sanctions against Mr Deripaska and Mr Vekselberg continued Australia's "close cooperation with key international partners".
"We welcome the principled stand taken by Australian companies in announcing moves to cut ties with Russia in protest of Moscow's illegal, indefensible war against Ukraine," Ms Payne said.
"The Australian government reiterates our unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and for the people of Ukraine.
