CVRD to build world's first bauxite pipeline

Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: RIO) is building a US$60mn pipeline to transport bauxite to a refinery in northern Brazil's Para state, a company spokesperson confirmed to BNamericas. The pipeline, scheduled to be ready by December 2006, will be able to transport 13.5Mt/y of bauxite pulp when completed, according to company data. CVRD purchased 39,570t of steel tubes, the equivalent of 247km, to build the world's first bauxite pipeline from its mine in Paragominas to the Alunorte refinery in Barcarena. The pipeline signifies CVRD's commitment to long-term investment in the aluminum industry, according to Jose Carlos Martins, the company's director of energy and business development. Infrastructure construction for the pipeline is under way, the company said.