Norsk Hydro ASA petitioned the Federal Court in Belem to lift the embargoes on installing and commissioning activities at the DRS2 bauxite residue deposit area of its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil, according to an Aug. 30 release.
In May, the court allowed Norsk Hydro to resume normal operations at Alunorte, more than a year after the company was ordered to cut capacity following a suspected leak at the site. But the court ruling did not cover DRS2, which is intended to replace the old DRS1 area.
In February 2018, the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainability of the state of Pará, or SEMAS, instructed Alunorte to reduce the water level in the DRS1 bauxite residue deposit, after heavy rainfall led to regional flooding and speculation about a leak at the smelter site.
In the latest release, Norsk Hydro said it filed the petition jointly with the Brazilian Public Prosecutor's office after entering a memorandum of understanding with the Para state environmental agency SEMAS and the prosecutors regarding the necessary measures to resume commissioning activities at DRS2.
As part of the agreement, the company agreed to perform a socioeconomic study on the impacts of DRS2 and update prosecutors on potential changes to the environmental license. In the meantime, Norsk Hydro is still using DRS1 to sustain production at Alunorte.
Nosrk Hydro swung to a second-quarter loss of 190 million Norwegian kroner due to lower realized aluminum and alumina prices as well as the impact of an extensive cyberattack in March that forced it to cut back on operations after IT systems in most divisions were compromised.
As of Aug. 30, US$1 was equivalent to 9.12 Norwegian kroner.
