August 20, 2013. Platinum production doubled in Sverdlovsk Region in the first half of 2013 and amounted to 54.28kg. A year earlier, 27.57kg of this precious metal were produced, Sverdlovsk Region Government’s press service refers to Chairman of the Union of the Urals’s Gold Industry Entrepreneurs Alexander Yastrebkov as saying. The gold output figures rose by 6% as well, from 2,934.4 kilos to 3,119 kilos.

August 20, 2013. Yekaterinburg dwellers could recently enjoy the beauty of 3D installations presented by the participants of the Color Festival on August 16, on the eve of Town Day. The spokesperson for Yekaterinburg Council reports that the show, based on the technology aimed for creating a 3D video image on a multi-angle surface, took place in Historic Square. This central spot was totally transformed once it got dark. ‘Visitors to Plotinka saw some experimenting with the volume and geometry, with the changing urban landscape transformed in the twilight,’ the spokesperson says.

August 20, 2013. Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant’s produce – ceramic flux (a powder used in the welding process) was certified by the National Welding Control Agency. By now, the Agency issued four certificates to confirm four varieties of ceramic flux - UF-N, UF-01, UF-02, and UF-03. Now ChTPZ Group has been producing ceramic flux since 2004; the second extension of the Ceramic flux project was launched in 2012, so the production capacity doubled and came to 14,000 tons a year; the launch of this new line made ChTPZ one of Russia and Europe’s largest ceramics producers. At the same time,

August 20, 2013. UC RUSAL signed an agreement with IES Holding to buy Bogoslovskaya Power Station in Krasnoturyinsk, Sverdlovsk Region. The company’s press service reports that buying the station will ensure the stable alumina production at Bogoslovsky smelter. The acquisition will also mean that the alumina prime cost will go down for this enterprise and that the produce will therefore become more competitive. All the jobs will be retained at the alumina facility in Krasnoturyinsk. Bogoslovskaya Power Station, with projected generating capacity of 135.5 megawatts will become a part of UC

August 20, 2013. Ural Airlines is planning to add six more Airbus planes to its fleet of vehicles in 2014, RIA Novosti refers to the company’s Director-General Sergey Skuratov as saying. ‘So far, we have signed contracts for 4 Airbus 319 ones,’ Skuratov said. He added that two more airplanes would also be from the Airbus family and will be either Airbus 321 ones or Airbus A320 ones. Skuratov said that in 2014, the airline will probably settle down with one particular type of a wide-bodied aircraft that it will be operating in the future. For now, Ural Airlines are putting up a large hangar