OSLO – Norwegian aluminium maker Hydro is still unable to set a date for the restart of production at Brazil's Alunorte alumina refinery, the world's largest, the company said on Wednesday.
The plant, a key supplier to Hydro's aluminium smelters, was ordered to halve production last week over fear of water contamination, a situation that resulted in the company declaring force majeure.
"We still don't know exactly what we need to do to be allowed to start producing at a 100 percent again at Alunorte," Hydro spokesman Oeyvind Breivik said.
"We are doing everything possible to get some clarity around this situation so that we can restart our production as soon as possible," he added.
On Tuesday a Brazilian court rejected Hydro's request to resume full production even though the company claims water levels at the plant's waste site have been within a required limit since 12 hours after the original deadline.
Hydro said it had not yet decided if it would appeal the verdict.
"This is something we are evaluating continuously but no final decision has been made," Breivik said.
"Our chief executive is in Brazil now and this situation is priority number one. He has initiated dialogues with both state and federal authorities," the spokesman added.