Brazil federal court upholds state court decision to opearte Alunorte at 50% capacity

Brazilian federal court once again upheld a state court decision forcing Norsk Hydro to operate Alunorte alumina refinery at 50 per cent capacity, according to news reported by Reuters.

The refinery has been operating at half capacity since March after state environmental authorities and the court ordered the alumina refinery to reduce production by 50%, federal environmental authorities ordered to stop commissioning of the new bauxite residue area (DRS2) and the press filter and the court also ordered to stop commissioning of the DRS2.

Hydro Alunorte, located in the region of Barcarena, is the world's largest alumina refinery and has a nameplate capacity of an annual 6.3 million tonnes. 

The federal court also upheld a ban on Hydro using a second waste deposit area near the plant. State prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday that failure to honor the conditions set by the courts would result in a daily fine of 1 million reais ($267,465.50).

“It’s our understanding that this is a necessary procedural step the court must take,” a Norsk Hydro spokesman said. “It ratifies a decision from a lower court, which is required before a potential further processing of the case, but we don’t know whether they plan to take any further steps.”