Australia will continue to impose costly sanctions on Russia, the Australian Foreign Ministry's website reported.

Australia has so far imposed a total of 476 sanctions on 443 individuals, including businessmen close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and 33 entities, including most of Russia’s banking sector and all entities responsible for the country's sovereign debt, the statement said.

Overnight, the government imposed an immediate ban on Australian exports of alumina and aluminum ore (including bauxite) to Russia, which would limit its ability to produce aluminum, Russia's most important export commodity.

Aluminum is a global raw material for the automotive, aerospace, packaging, engineering and construction industries, as well as an important raw material for the arms industry. Russia relies on Australia for nearly 20 percent of its alumina needs.

The Foreign Minister has imposed an export ban as part of Australia's autonomous sanctions against Russia. The government will work closely with exporters and critical authorities affected by the ban to find new markets and expand existing ones.