Rio suspends alumina production at Gove Rio says the refinery is no longer a viable business in the current market, so it will now focus on its bauxite operations. The company did not say how many jobs would be lost as it works on the scope and phased timing of the suspension. Around 1,500 workers are employed at the Gove refinery, while 350 people are employed at the bauxite operations. Rio chief executive Sam Walsh said it was a sad day for everyone associated with Gove and an extremely difficult decision that would have a significant impact on workers and the Northern Territory generally. "There is no doubt it is a challenging path ahead," Mr Walsh said. The refinery has been losing money for years due to long-depressed global aluminium prices and over-supply. Both the federal and territory governments have offered subsidised gas to Rio and to take on the financial risk of a gas pipeline to prevent Friday's decision. However, NT chief minister Adam Giles earlier this year decided to cut the amount of gas he was willing to subsidise for the refinery, prompting Rio to again review its operations. Mr Walsh said that while all practical scenarios were considered it had not been possible to find a sustainable solution. "There is nothing more the Northern Territory government could have done to help secure a long-term future for the refinery," he said. Key factors influencing the decision were continuing low alumina prices, a high exchange rate and substantial after-tax losses for the refinery despite considerable efforts to improve performance, he said. Rio said it was working to identify initiatives to create new opportunities for members of the 4,000-strong community of Nhulunbuy, where a high number of indigenous people were employed. Aboriginal community leaders say the loss of mining jobs and those of the businesses who service the miners would devastate the region. Earlier this week, the NT government was putting in place contingency plans to bail out the township, looking at whether airlines and supermarkets would abandon Nhulunbuy, how many schoolchildren would remain, demands on the hospital and impacts on homeowners with home loans. The decision comes a day after Rio Tinto said it would spend "significantly" less than previously expected to expand its Pilbara iron ore production capacity to 360 million tonnes per annum. It said mine production capacity would increase by more than 60 million tonnes a year between 2014 and 2017.