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To: craig crawford who wrote (323)	6/25/2001 1:22:56 PM
From: craig crawford	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1643

Monday June 25, 9:27 am Eastern Time No plan yet for more Brazil aluminium cuts-Aluvale biz.yahoo.com LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - Brazil's aluminium industry has no immediate plans to impose production cuts at the Valesul and Albras plants as part of the government scheme to cut power consumption, the president of their leading shareholder, Aluvale, said on Monday. The aluminium sector is awaiting a government decision as to the percentage of cutbacks to be imposed on smelters as part of the rationing programme. ``We are waiting for this (decision) to materialise,'' said Luiz Paulo Marinho Nunes, president of Aluvale, aluminium arm of mining and metals group Cia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) . ``It depends on the rules that the government comes up with,'' he told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in London. When asked about specific plans for the Valesul or Albras plants, in which Aluvale has stakes of 54.51 and 51.00 percent respectively, Marinho Nunes said there was nothing immediate. ``We are hoping to look at finding a solution to minimise the impact (of power rationing) on the industry. If we have to make the effort, then that will be directed at raising water levels on the dams for the future, say in two or three years time,'' he said. Aluvale is a holding company looking after CVRD's ownership stakes in four aluminium and alumina companies. The government imposed the programme on June 1 to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent as two years of drought have triggered an energy crisis in Brazil, which relies for its power mainly on hydroelectric dams. Early this month, U.S. aluminium producer Alcoa (NYSE:AA - news) said it was cutting production at its smelter in Pocos de Caldas in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais by 25 percent. The issue of production cutbacks in Brazil has been gripping the world aluminium market, particularly as CVRD has been widely rumoured to be about to impose a 25 percent cut at export-oriented Albras. The firm has declined to make any formal announcement until there is more concrete news on government policy.