Russian Aluminium and Magnesium Institute (VAMI) is a major design institute in the field of raw materials mining and beneficiation technology, and their further processing for producing non-ferrous metals.
The history of the Institute began in 1931, and is inextricably linked with the development history of non-ferrous metallurgy in the country and its economic growth.
The results of the Institute's activities over its more than 80-year history include:
- 8 operating production facilities which produce alumina, magnesium and aluminium in Russia;
- 4 mining and processing plants;
- aluminium smelters and alumina refineries in Russia and CIS countries;
- more than 10 production facilities abroad.
The Institute is a technology developer and designer of a full technology package to produce alumina, aluminium, magnesium and other technologies, including a unique technology of alumina production from nepheline concentrate.
Since 2003, the Institute has been a part of UC RUSAL, and has been working to improve the technologies and equipment for the Company's production facilities, design new facilities and upgrade existing aluminium smelters, alumina refineries and their power facilities.
The following UC RUSAL facilities were built based on the Institute's projects:
- Khakas Aluminium Smelter – the first in the post-Soviet era, and one of the most advanced and environmentally friendly metallurgical facilities in Russia,
- Boguchany Aluminium Smelter, which is a part of BEMO – Boguchany Energy and Metals Complex,
- Taishet Aluminium Smelter, which is under construction,
- Taishet Anode Factory.
Based on the engineering solutions and documents of RUSAL VAMI, major upgrades with a 10-20% productivity increase were performed at the following production facilities:
- Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Smelter
- Nikolaev Alumina Refinery
- Achinsk Alumina Refinery
- Ural Aluminium Smelter (alumina production)
Since 2011, the Institute's specialists have been regularly conducting energy surveys, including instrumentation surveys, at UC RUSAL aluminium smelters and alumina refineries.
Since 2008, the Institute has been implementing major projects for external customers at transport and power engineering facilities. Positive opinions on all developed design documents were received from Russia's General Board of State Expert Review (Glavgosexpertiza).
The Institute is furnished with state-of-the-art equipment for design and research work, including digital technologies – 3D modeling for equipment layout and arrangement optimisation, models of ore mining operations.
The Institute's intellectual base includes more than 250 patents, a scientific and engineering archive of created technologies, joint scientific research with foreign customers and engineering companies.