Media release

Rio Tinto’s decision on Queensland Alumina welcome; Origin Energy still to act

8th April 2022

The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) welcomes the decision by Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) to take on “100% of the capacity and governance of Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) until further notice”. QAL is 80% owned by Rio Tinto and 20% owned by Rusal.

Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg were sanctioned by the Australian government on 17 March. Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced a ban on alumina exports to Russia on 20 March.

Queensland Alumina Ltd is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) (80%) and Rusal International PJSC (20%).
- Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska owns approximately 44.5% of En+ Group International PJSC which in turn owns 56.9% of Rusal International PJSC.
- Russian oligarch Viktor Vekelsberg owns approximately 32.3% of Rusal International PJSC through subsidiary companies SUAL Partners Ltd (21.6%) and Zonoville Investments Ltd (10.7%).
Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) (77.5%) operates a joint venture with Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd (22.5%) in the Beetaloo Basin.
- Russian oligarch Viktor Vekelsberg owns approximately 16% of Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd through subsidiary company Lamesa Group Holding SA.
- Vekelsberg representative Maxim Mayorets resigned from the board of Falcon Oil & Gas on 1 March 2022.

Dan Gocher, Director of Climate & Environment at the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) said:

“We welcome Rio Tinto’s decision to take on the capacity and governance of Queensland Alumina.

“However, until Rio Tinto provides further details we remain concerned that Deripaska and Vekselberg may still financially benefit from Queensland Alumina.

“At Rio Tinto’s annual general meeting in London later today, the board is likely to face questioning from shareholders about its relationship with Rusal.

“Unlike Rio Tinto, Origin Energy has failed to take action on its Beetaloo Basin joint venture with Falcon Oil & Gas. Viktor Vekselberg controls at least 16% of Falcon Oil & Gas, and nearly 80% of Falcon’s shareholders are undisclosed.

“To date, Origin has claimed that: ‘neither Lamesa Holdings nor Mr Vekselberg are a party to the Beetaloo Basin joint venture.’

“Origin is clearly attempting to weather the storm. We have to ask what is the point of sanctions, if Vekselberg can still profit from any successful exploration in the Beetaloo Basin.

“Origin Energy should suspend its joint venture with Falcon Oil & Gas until Viktor Vekselberg’s interest in Falcon is quarantined.”

Background

Top five shareholders in Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd as at 7 April 2022:

Holder	Common Stock Equivalent Held (actual)	Percent of Common Shares Outstanding (%)	Market Value (AU$M)
Lamesa Group Holding SA	157,083,634	16.00	29.2
Nicolas Mathys	40,000,000	4.07	7.4
Lupus Alpha Asset Management GmbH	4,882,500	0.50	0.9
Philip O’Quigley CEO & Executive Director	3,513,696	0.36	0.7
Universal Investment GmbH	1,578,000	0.16	0.3

Top five shareholders in Rusal International PJSC as at 7 April 2022:

Holder	Common Stock Equivalent Held (actual)	Percent of Common Shares Outstanding (%)	Market Value (AU$M)
En+ Group International public joint-stock company	8,641,786,854	56.88	6,570.6
SUAL Partners Ltd.	3,283,210,512	21.61	2,496.3
Zonoville Investments Ltd	1,625,652,591	10.70	1,236.0
Vanguard Group Inc.	100,917,949	0.66	76.7
BlackRock Inc.	75,433,113	0.50	57.4

Top five shareholders in En+ Group International PJSC as at 7 April 2022:

Holder	Common Stock Equivalent Held (actual)	Percent of Common Shares Outstanding (%)	Market Value (AU$M)
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska	223,597,114	44.51	2,784.6
Aktsionernoye Obshchestvo Tsentr Obrabotki Dannykh Irkutskenergo	136,522,009	27.18	1,700.2
Glencore PLC	67,398,559	13.42	839.4
Polina Valentinovna Yumasheva	33,156,258	6.60	412.9
Ninety One UK Ltd.	627,011	0.12	7.8