The S11D combines productivity, respect for people, technology, and environmental intelligence to form the largest mining infrastructure in Vale’s history.
Besides creating a competitive edge for the Brazilian ore industry, the complex features groundbreaking, sustainable solutions using less diesel, natural moisture processing, and no tailing dams. Vale’s investments in innovation and business expertise bring about more efficient operations and reduced environmental impact.
The project is located on the city of Canaã dos Carajás, in South-Eastern Pará State.
The S11D combines productivity, respect for people, technology, and environmental intelligence to form the largest mining infrastructure in Vale’s history.
Besides creating a competitive edge for the Brazilian ore industry, the complex features groundbreaking, sustainable solutions using less diesel, natural moisture processing, and no tailing dams. Vale’s investments in innovation and business expertise bring about more efficient operations and reduced environmental impact.
The project is located on the city of Canaã dos Carajás, in South-Eastern Pará State.
The iron ore produced at the S11D contains 66.7% iron
More than US$ 6.4 billion invested in the construction of the mine and plant.
Learn about S11D Operations
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The iron ore is strip-mined
from the S11D mine.
The ores are extracted via
the truckless system.
The ore is shipped from the mine
to the plant via a 9Km-long
Long-Distance Belt Transporter (TCLD).
At the plant, the ore is
processed under natural
humidity and does not require
the use of water to remove impurities.
The ore is shipped in the
Carajás Railroad (EFC) via
the new, 101 kilometers long
railroad branch.
Via EFC, the product reaches
the Ponta da Madeira Maritime
Terminal (TMPM), in São Luís,
whose capacity will also be expanded.
The ships leave the Ponta da Madeira
Maritime Terminal towards our
customers around the world.
Operational Support Technologies:
Truckless System
Instead of the 100 off-highway trucks that would be required for the activity, a structure comprised of excavators and movable crushers extracts the iron ore and feed 30km of interconnected conveyor belts, which transport the product to the processing plant. In addition to reducing the amount of waste, such as tires, filters and lubricants, this new system uses 70% less fuel.
Natural Moisture Processing
The system reduced water consumption by 93%, which corresponds to the water supply for a city with 400k inhabitants. The technology also yielded energy savings. Another upside is that it eliminates the need for tailing dams. The ultrafine fraction of high-grade iron ore that would end up in the dam will not be disposed of, but rather incorporated back into production. 300 million metric tons are expected to return to the mine over its 30-year life.
Cutting-Edge Automation and Control System
Some of the latest automation and control mechanisms adopted at the SD11 include more efficient management of energy resources and intelligent devices that adjust supply of raw materials to each demand. The automation network controls all the variables involved, turning off idle equipment and power consumption points in case of low demand/loads.
Drone
The S11D uses next-generation drone technology to carry out aerial surveys of the mine, plant, and ore piles in general. These images support short-term mine planning, adding safety, agility, and precision to surveying activities.
Simulators
Operators responsible for loading railroad cars with iron ore are receiving training with the aid of a simulator, installed at the S11D Training Center. It is a critical tool for the training process.
Truckless System
Instead of the 100 off-highway trucks that would be required for the activity, a structure comprised of excavators and movable crushers extracts the iron ore and feed 30km of interconnected conveyor belts, which transport the product to the processing plant. In addition to reducing the amount of waste, such as tires, filters and lubricants, this new system uses 70% less fuel.
Natural Moisture Processing
The system reduced water consumption by 93%, which corresponds to the water supply for a city with 400k inhabitants. The technology also yielded energy savings. Another upside is that it eliminates the need for tailing dams. The ultrafine fraction of high-grade iron ore that would end up in the dam will not be disposed of, but rather incorporated back into production. 300 million metric tons are expected to return to the mine over its 30-year life.
Cutting-Edge Automation and Control System
Some of the latest automation and control mechanisms adopted at the SD11 include more efficient management of energy resources and intelligent devices that adjust supply of raw materials to each demand. The automation network controls all the variables involved, turning off idle equipment and power consumption points in case of low demand/loads.
Drone
The S11D uses next-generation drone technology to carry out aerial surveys of the mine, plant, and ore piles in general. These images support short-term mine planning, adding safety, agility, and precision to surveying activities.
Simulators
Operators responsible for loading railroad cars with iron ore are receiving training with the aid of a simulator, installed at the S11D Training Center. It is a critical tool for the training process.
Social Investments
Vale made several investments in social initiatives related to the S11D Complex in Canaã. The company and city government of Canaã dos Carajás sign off on 40 construction works, including the construction and refurbishment of eight municipal schools that were equipped with higher quality infrastructure, air-conditioned classrooms, covered sports courts, and building facilities for people with disabilities. The city's public hospital was also refurbished to double its medical care capacity, being expanded with a surgical area, a maternity ward, and a newborn care room. The building site was also added to the hospital.
S11D in Figures
Iron ore production capacity of 90 Mtpa/year
93% reduction in water consumption
70% reduction in diesel consumption
18,000 MWh/year in electricity savings
Learn More about the S11D Construction
38km Conveyor Belt System Deployed Outside the Forest
The plant, the separation yards and stockyards, the hardpan and waste rock piles (iron ore with higher concentration of heavy metals), and the train maneuvering and loading yards are located on a grassland outside the Carajás National Forest (Flona, Floresta Nacional de Carajás). According to the master plan, the Project would occupy 2,600 hectares of the Carajás National Forest, but the solution helped reduce the removal of native vegetation by more than 40%.
Modular Construction
One of the greatest innovations in the S11D building process is the concept of modularization, like the method used in the construction of offshore platforms from the oil industry. The eight operational buildings of the plant were “sliced” into 109 modules. weighing from 80 to 1.3 thousand tons, which were built in an assembly park a little over 40km away from the plant. Plant structures and other equipment were assembled, welded, and bolted to resemble huge Lego pieces. The VS 40 highway was specially designed, prepared and paved to withstand the weight and dimensions of the modules, having also benefitted the local community in the outflow of agricultural production. All 109 modules were transported to the plant by August 2015 and finally assembled in October of the same year. The technology enabled Vale to implement the project two years ahead of schedule.
The project has brought together suppliers from 12 countries across four continents
64 ships with equipment and structures were mobilized for the project
109 modules built as Lego pieces for plant assembly
16,600 tons of hardware were used in implementation, enough steel to build almost three Eiffel Towers
244,000 m³ of concrete, enough to build four Maracanã stadiums or 70 24-story buildings
203,500 tons (approximate total weight) of metal structures and equipment
14,000 trailer trucks carrying equipment from different states
Origin of the Name S11D
The complex was named after the site’s location. It refers to block D of the S11 shell, which sits on the Serra Sul mountain of the great Carajás region. The Carajás mine, in operation since 1985, is located further north, in Parauapebas, a neighboring city to Canaã. For geological purposes, S11D is just a block of the shell that has been divided into four parts: A, B, C and D. The mineral potential of the S11 shell is 10 billion metric tons of iron ore, while blocks C and D reserves hold 4.24 billion metric tons of iron ore.
S11D adds the most advanced technology
Multimedia Gallery
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