Podgorica - Montenegro's biggest exporter, the KAP aluminium plant KAP faces closure, with its foreign bank accounts blocked and an energy company threatening to seize the produced aluminium to pay off debts, local media reports said Saturday.

KAP is the tiny Adriatic country's biggest exporter, accounting for 40 per cent of industrial production and generating some 10,000 jobs. Bankruptcy would severely hurt the Montenegrin economy.

Podgorica media reports said KAP production had been halved owing to low aluminum prices, the company's accounts had been blocked and the Russian management had departed.

The Montenegrin Energy company EPCG had asked a Podgorica court to block KAP access to the aluminium because of debts owed to EPCG.

EPCG later withdrew the demand, but that did not help the 3,600 KAP bauxite miners demonstrating to demand their February salaries to be paid. KAP officials said the salaries would be paid on Monday.

Russian "aluminum king" Oleg Deripaska bought KAP three years ago. Deripaska later sued the Montenegrin government for 330 million euros (447,2 million dollars), claiming the government as a former KAP owner did not present the true economic situation of KAP.

The Mongenegrin government had offered a 20 million-euro loan to Deripaska to help him maintain production, but Deripaska rejected this.

The government has repeatedly said it will, if necessary, take over KAP again, and local analysts predicted the government would find a way to pay off workers because of coming elections. (dpa)