Brazilian aluminum company CBA started operations on Tuesday (Jan 30) of its expanded primary aluminum plant after boosting capacity to 475,000t/y from 405,000t/y.
As a result, CBA now has the largest primary aluminum smelter in Latin America, behind Brazil's Albras and Venezuela's Venalum.
"The [expansion] is due to reach full operations in two months," CBA sales director Luís Carlos Loureiro Filho told reporters at the plant, located in Alumínio city, São Paulo state, without specifying how much was invested in the project.
CBA has invested a total of US$2.07bn in the last five years, of which 72% came from the company's own resources.
Meanwhile, the company plans a further expansion to about 600,000t/y, CBA president Antônio Ermírio de Moraes told reporters, without providing further details such as a timeline or capex.
"This [new] expansion is a matter of time. This is our plan," the company president said, adding the project hinges on power supply. "There is not enough power for aluminum [production]."
CBA, which also operates 18 hydroelectric plants, plans to install a new rolling mill, among other equipment, the sales director said.
The company is part of Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim.
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