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In partnership with the Brazilian Navy, The Brazilian Aluminium Association (Associação Brasileira de Alumínio – ABAL) promoted a workshop on the carriage of bauxite by sea.
With the support of ABAL’s members Alcoa, CBA, Hydro, Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN), Rio Tinto and South32, the event took place on 3 December 2019 in Belém-PA, Northern Brazil, and brought together more than 150 participants, including newly graduated merchant navy officers, technicians, supervisors of laboratories, shipping agents, port terminals and other stakeholders in the aluminium industry. In the role of P&I correspondents in the Amazon ports, Proinde’s Eduardo Martins, Rodrigo Nascimento and Ricardo Martins participated in the event.
(from left): Proinde’s Eduardo Martins, Ricardo Martins and Rodrigo Nascimento (Photo: Proinde)
The event was opened by the Commander of the 4th Naval District, Vice Admiral Newton de Almeida Costa Neto and representatives from ABAL, who gave an insight into the current bauxite and alumina market. They explained that Brazil holds the fourth largest bauxite reserve in the world and is the fourth-largest producer of the aluminium ore, generating over 4,000 direct jobs – last year, some 32 million metric tons (mmt) of bauxite were extracted from the mines in the North of Brazil, 75% of which was refined in the country.
Vice Admiral Newton de Almeida Costa Neto (Photo: Proinde)
Executives from MRN, Alcoa and Hydro provided an overview of the production and shipments of bauxite at the river ports of Trombetas, Juruti and Vila do Conde (Barcarena), respectively. A technician from MRN, Brazil’s largest bauxite producer, spoke about the operations and processes involved in the extraction, production and certification of Brazilian bauxite from Trombetas, while an Alcoa expert presented technical information on the new individual schedule introduced for bauxite fines under the IMSBC Code and the need to determine – and control – the transportable moisture limit (TML) and moisture content (MC) of bauxite falling under Group A, which comprises solid bulk cargoes that may liquefy.
To close the event, an officer from Navy’s Directorate of Ports and Coasts (DPC) Capt. Arthur explained the role of the Maritime Authority in implementing, regulating and enforcing the IMBSC Code for the licensing and monitoring of material and laboratories used for the technical analysis in close cooperation with ABAL and IMO.
According to ANTAQ statistics, in 2018, over 33.6 mmt of bauxite were handled in Brazilian ports, being about 9 mmt for export. The main port facilities handling the aluminium ore were MRN’s Trombetas (43.2%), Alumar’s Itaqui (29.1%), Alcoa’s Juruti (19.6%) and Hydro’s Vila do Conde (8%).
Click here to learn more about the shipments of bauxite out of Brazil’s Northern Arc river ports.
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