Norsk Hydro: Extended maintenance at Paragominas, production at Alunorte unaffected

One of two ball mills at Hydro’s bauxite mining operations, Paragominas in Para, Brazil, was taken out for planned maintenance in the beginning of March, with planned return to production towards the second half of March. As work progressed, an inspection revealed items which require an extended period of reduced production. Maintenance and improvements are now expected to last until the second half of April.

Paragominas normally operates with two ball mills, and with one ball mill out for maintenance, production at Paragominas is now running at 50% of capacity. In preparation for this maintenance, Hydro’s Alunorte alumina refinery was operating with an inventory level sufficient to cover the planned maintenance period.

The current inventory levels at Alunorte and supply from the MRN bauxite mine are expected to be sufficient to cover the bauxite needs during the extended maintenance period, ensuring that production at Alunorte remains unaffected.

Paragominas has a nameplate capacity of 9.9 million tonnes. Alunorte has a nameplate capacity of 6.3 million tonnes, and is the world’s largest alumina refinery. Both operations are situated in the state of Pará in Brazil.

Published: March 18, 2015