The court also determined that Hydro Alunorte suspends its operations in the DRS 2 bauxite waste deposit, and that the new operation license of this will only be granted when the integrity of the DRS 2 deposit is fully verified.

Hydro is currently evaluating the operational and financial implications of the court decision, including with respect to its customers and employees of Hydro Alunorte, located in the region of Barcarena, in the north of the state of Pará.

On the same Wednesday, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) issued a notification in which it determined that Hydro discontinued its operations at the DRS2 bauxite waste deposit, belonging to the alumina refinery.

The notification from IBAMA, a federal autarchy linked to the Ministry of the Environment, and the decision of the Justice of Pará were issued after the State Secretariat of Environment and Sustainability of Pará (SEMAS) determined, last Tuesday , that Hydro Alunorte would have to reduce its calcined alumina production by 50%.

A few hours before SEMAS issued its determination, Environment Minister José Sarney Filho asked IBAMA to suspend Hydro Alunorte's operations. SEMAS also demanded that Hydro stop using one of the two tailings dams at its Hydro Paragominas bauxite mine, located approximately 250 km west of the refinery.

“Hydro continues to collaborate with all regional and federal authorities and has created a specialized task force to conduct a full assessment of & nbsp; Hydro Alunorte”, reported personally by Norsk Hydro ASA Executive President & CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg .

Hydro is the largest aluminum company in South America, after having acquired Vale's aluminum business in the state of Pará in 2011. With an annual nominal capacity of 6.3 million tons, Hydro Alunorte it is the largest alumina refinery in the world and employs approximately two thousand people. Hydro owns 92.1% of Hydro Alunorte.