The collective vacation will last for 15 days.

The Ministry of Labor and Employment was informed of the decision on March 13. It has also been communicated to the Extractive Industry Workers Union in the state of Pará and Amapá (STIEAPA).

Hydro’s bauxite mine in Paragominas provides bauxite to the Alunorte refinery to produce calcined alumina. Hydro is still evaluating potential actions at Alunorte, following the production cut of 50 percent of calcined alumina.

Hydro is South America’s biggest aluminium company after acquiring Brazilian mining company Vale’s aluminium assets in the northern state of Pará in 2011. The mining operations at Paragominas started in 2007 and employs about 1 450 permanent workers. Mineração Paragominas is fully owned by Hydro.

On February 27 the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainability (SEMAS) in the Brazilian state of Pará formally notified the Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro ASA’s refinery Alunorte to cut the production of calcined alumina with 50 percent.