Recent reports have suggested that aluminium output from Venezuela's state-run Alcasa smelter has dropped by approximately 16 percent following damage to one of its two production lines. The smelter, which had already closed two out of its four lines in December 1998, had set a production target for 1999 of 170,000 tonnes, but up to the start of December, it had only produced a total of 123,000 tonnes. The most recent problem was caused by an electricity surge at the beginning of November, and the fault is due to have been repaired by the beginning of this year, although we have no received confirmation of this to date.
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