Alcoa Corp., a leading aluminum producer in the US, said at the end of March that engineers were repairing a two-belt system used to convey raw materials, such as bauxite, coal, coke, and pitch, from the dock at the Alumar alumina refinery in S?o Luis, Brazil.
This conveyance system malfunctioned on March 25, 2023, causing the materials to fail to be unloaded. The dock was undamaged and vessels can still be berthed.
After the system failure, the Alumar alumina refinery and smelter could only use its existing inventory for operation. In order to preserve the existing bauxite inventory, the daily output will be reduced by about 25% in about 10 days.