BNamericas reported that Venezuelan state alumina and bauxite company Bauxilum aims to close 2012 with production of 1.65 million tonne of alumina.

Mr Wilfrido Flores director of labor relations said that "It's a completely achievable goal, but it depends on two factors. The first is the injection of resources and the second is the payment of the debt that state aluminum reducers Alcasa and Venalum have with us."

Mr Flores said that to carry out the necessary investment, the company is already preparing the paperwork to ask the government for USD 80 million loan to invest in raw materials and the operational recovery of the plant.

The debts which total USD 421 million at Alcasa and USD 66 million at Venalum have caused operational and financial problems for Bauxilum. However, progress was made this week when Venalum, Bauxilum and aluminum cable producer Cabelum signed an agreement that involves Venalum selling 400 tonne per month of aluminum to Cabelum and using the proceeds to pay off the debt it has accumulated with Bauxilum.

He said that we are arriving at solutions to set a production target for 2012 that shows we are on the road to full recovery. We aren't projecting production of 1.8 million tonne or 1.9 million tonne because the recovery of this kind of plant is not immediate it happens over time.

The company's target for 2013 is 1.8 million tonne. It's an average of what our production has been in the past. State heavy industry holding CVG controls 99% of Bauxilum and the remainder is owned by Swiss group Alusuisse Lonza Holding.