Brazil federal court upholds state court¡¯s order of reducing production at Hydro Alunorte refinery

A Brazilian federal judge yesterday upheld a lower court ruling that ordered Norsk Hydro to cut production at Alunorte alumina refinery by 50 per cent. Federal Judge Arthur Pinheiro Chaves said that failure to honor the conditions set by the courts would result in a daily fine of 1 million reais ($285,000), according to news published by Reuters.

 Hydro Alunorte, located in the region of Barcarena, is the world's largest alumina refinery and employs around 2,000 people and has a nameplate capacity of an annual 6.3 million tonnes. On average, 14 per cent of its production goes to the domestic market and the other 86 per cent is exported.  Hydro holds 92.1 per cent of Alunorte ownership.

A regional court issued a ruling on Wednesday, February 28, demanding Hydro to cut production by half at its alumina refinery, over worries that a rainstorm had led to leakages from Alunorte into the nearby river and causing contamination of water and land.

“Both reports confirm our previous statements that there was no overflow from the bauxite residue deposit areas, as well as no indication or evidence of contamination to nearby local communities from Alunorte as a result of the heavy rainfall in February,” President and CEO  Svein Richard Brandtzæg said earlier.

“We have initiated several measures to further enhance Alunorte’s operational standards, including water treatment capacity, emergency preparedness plans and maintenance. We will also strengthen community engagement to ensure that we contribute to sustainable development in Barcarena in line with Hydro’s CSR Strategy.”

Last week, Hydro said that 50 per cent production restriction at Alunorte and subsequent reduction of production at Paragominas during March had a negative impact on the results for bauxite & alumina in the first quarter of 2018.

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