Hydro striving to convince Brazil for full resumption at Alunorte refinery

Followed by the two deals pledging social and environmental action, Norsk Hydro is striving to convince Brazilian authorities to allow it to resume full production at Alunorte refinery, reported the company’s top executive.

The deals, signed on September 5 in Brazil, were an important step but did not guarantee to allow full resumption of production at Alunorte, John Thuestad, Norsk Hydro’s executive vice-president for bauxite and alumina, told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday, September 6.

The deals signed with federal and state prosecutors as well as the state government and environmental authorities included payments for food cards for nearby families, investments for the social development of local communities, and technical improvements but did not include a timeline for resumption of production at full capacity.

According to Thuestad, Hydro was technically ready to recommence the capacity and would now concentrate on convincing the relevant Brazilian judge.

“It’s the right decision to reopen the facility,” especially given the tightness of the world’s alumina market, he said.

Thuestad also said more than 90 inspections had established that the allegation of making unlicensed emissions of untreated water during severe rains against Hydro did not stand correct. Even the company denied many of the prosecutors’ allegations and said there was no evidence of a lasting environmental effect.

However, the lesson Hydro drew from the incident was that it needed to improve its relations with local Brazilian communities and with authorities in the country, concluded Thuestad at the end.