Aluminium recycling and rolling company Novelis has announced that it is to close its aluminium smelter at Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais in Brazil.

First opened in 1934 (and acquired by Novelis in 1950), the plant currently employs approximately 350 people and produces 18,000 metric tonnes of aluminium per year in the form of billets for sale to third-party extruders.

However, as part of Novelis’s corporate strategy, it will seek to ‘focus its operations in Brazil on its core business of aluminum rolling and recycling’, the company has announced.

As a result, operations will cease at its Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, primary aluminum smelter at the end of 2014.

‘Moving from a linear to a closed-loop business model’

Tadeu Nardocci, Senior Vice President of Novelis and President of Novelis South America, explained: “The decision to end operations at Ouro Preto is consistent with our global strategy to build our business around sustainability – transforming from a linear business model to a closed-loop business model focused on recycled content.

“In addition, the closure is driven by systemic issues affecting the entire primary aluminum industry in Brazil impacting cost of operations and overall competitiveness.”

Nardocci added that the company’s priority in the months ahead will be to “maintain safe operations” while managing “the smoothest transition for [its] workforce, customers and the community”.

Brazil is one of Novelis’s key strategic markets. Last year, the company completed a $340-million expansion of its rolling operations in Brazil, which increased its aluminium sheet production capacity to 600,000 metric tonnes per year. In addition, Novelis recently concluded a $106-million (£63 million) expansion of its recycling centre and installed a new can coating line; both projects begin commercial operations this month.

Find out more about aluminium recycling in Brazil.