India's NALCO alumina refinery resumes normal output

BHUBANESWAR, India, Sept 8 (Reuters) - National Aluminium Co Ltd's (NALCO) (NALU.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) alumina refinery in east India has resumed normal production after a four-day disruption caused by shortage of coal, a senior company official said on Monday.

P.K. Mahapatra, executive director of the Damanjodi refinery in the coastal state of Orissa, said the shutdown of its boiler plant on Thursday had resulted in a production los of 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of alumina over four days.

"Everything is normal at the alumina refinery now because we have received fresh supplies of coal for the boiler plant," he said.

He said the company would be able to make up the shortfall in alumina output before the end of this month.

Production at the Damanjodi refinery, with an annual capacity of about 1.5 million tonnes of alumina, was also curtailed in July due to coal shortage and had resumed normal output last month after getting coal supplies.

Another company official, who spoke on condition of annonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said coal supplies from a local mine had fallen sharply and the situation remained tight.

The company has been looking at alternate sources for coal, but imports were not viable for the boiler because of their high ash content, the official said.

The refinery needs 2,500 tonnes of coal a day to run its boiler, but stocks were sufficient for only about one-and-a-half days, Mahapatra said.

The coal position was also tight at NALCO's Angul power plant, also in Orissa, with only around three days of stocks. The company had started importing coal, mainly from Indonesia, for the unit.

Last month a company official said that it planned total imports of around 330,000 tonnes immediately.

Domestic coal supplies are expected to improve only after the monsoon rains end in September. (Reporting by Jatindra Dash; Writing by Biman Mukherji; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)