Power outage in Paragominas bauxite mine
Three power transmission towers overturned on 20 June, cutting the power supply to Hydro’s Paragominas bauxite mine and temporarily halting production.
Work to repair the power transmission towers has started, and regular power supply to Paragominas is expected to resume within 2-3 weeks.
The Paragominas mine in the state of Pará in northern Brazil delivers bauxite to the Alunorte alumina refinery in Barcarena via a 244-km-long pipeline. Production at Alunorte during this period will be reduced to between 50-70% of full capacity to balance the bauxite inventories.
<strong>No significant customer impact from power outage
There were no injuries to people nor damage to the environment or other production assets as a result of the incident. Hydro does not expect significant customer impact from the power outage. Hydro is taking all necessary measures to restore power and normal operations as soon as possible, following necessary procedures and guidelines ensuring safe operations related to the Covid-19 situation in Brazil.
Hydro is cooperating with local authorities to determine the cause of the incident. Initial findings show that some parts of the transmission towers have been removed, causing the three power transmission towers to overturn and leading to the power outage.
Vedanta Aluminium has announced the development of an innovative process to significantly reduce the generation of bauxite residue.
Emirates Global Aluminium has begun the construction of a pilot plant to convert bauxite residue, a waste stream from alumina refining, into manufactured soil.
Century Aluminum has signed a new, three-year power contract for the Mt. Holly aluminium smelter.