Vale has a logistics network that integrates mines, railroads, ships, and ports for fast and safe transportation of ore. Our infrastructure is used in Brazil, Indonesia, Mozambique, Oman, Malaysia, and China.
Our logistics structure also carries third-party cargo and offers two passenger train lines in Brazil – Vitória-Minas railroad (EFVM) and Carajás railroad.
Railroads
Vale operates nearly 2 thousand kilometers of railroad network in Brazil and has signed agreements to use some lines in Africa, creating one of its major competitive advantages. There are still two important long-distance rail branches in operation for passenger trains.
Select the Railway operation
Vitória-Minas Railroad
Country: Brazil
Extension: 905 kilometers
Load transported:
Vale's iron ore and general third-party cargo – coal and agricultural products.
Main connection points: Iron ore operations from the interior of Minas Gerais to the port of Tubarão (Espírito Santo).
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Passenger Train on Vitória-Minas Railroad
Trains depart daily from Cariacica (Vitória, Espírito Santo) to Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais) and in the opposite direction. There is also an additional train between Itabira and Nova Era, both in Minas Gerais. Passenger train is annually used by almost 1 million people.
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Carajás Railroad
Country: Brazil
Extension: 972 kilometros
Load transported:
Iron ore, pig iron, manganese, copper, fuel, and coal.
Main connection points: From Minas de Carajás (Pará) to Ponta da Madeira maritime terminal (Maranhão).
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Passenger Train on Carajás Railroad
The train departs on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays on the rail branches between São Luís (Maranhão) and Parauapebas (Pará); it goes through 25 locations – villages and municipalities in the region. The structure offers cafeteria, restaurant, exclusive railroad car for wheelchair users, air conditioning, and on-board service. The passenger train is annually used by almost 350 thousand people.
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Vale Tourist Train
This train is operated on an 18-km rail branch between the cities of Ouro Preto and Mariana, in Minas Gerais. This Tourist Train is the result of the revitalization of an old railroad built in 1883 and its four stations. The railroad cars and the locomotive were also refurbished to preserve their original characteristics and provide a real journey through time.
Nacala Corridor
Country: Mozambique
It aims to connect Moatize coal mine to Nacala-à-Velha, where Vale built a deep-draft seaport, refurbished 682 kilometers of railroads, and built a 230-kilometer rail branch. The corridor crosses southern Malawi, a country neighboring Mozambique.
Access other Important Information about Our Railroads
Communication channel
Communication channel
Vale offers the communities along the Vitória-Minas Railroad the following relationship channels:
Railroad hotline – Call 0800 285 7000, toll free, 24/7, to ask questions about our passenger train routes, prices and times.
Train timetable – Train passengers can call 0300 3136 580, for the price of a local call, to find out up-to-date information about departure and arrival times for our trains.
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FAQ
Ports and Terminals
To integrate operations in the five continents, Vale has a network of ports and terminals connected to the mines through railroads. Among them are deep-draft ports suitable for Valemax. The structures are used in Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Oman; in addition, they provide cargo services for third parties.
Tubarão port
Located near the Port of Vitória in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo, this port covers 18 square kilometres and consists of four maritime terminals: Iron Ore, Praia Mole, Diverse Products and Bulk Liquids. The port handles iron ore and pellets, coal, grains, fertilizers and bulk liquids.
Regulation:
Ponta Madeira terminal
Located near the Port of Itaqui in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, this terminal is capable of accommodating five ships at the same time. It is mainly used to export iron ore, although it also handles manganese ore produced by Vale.
Regulation:
Itaguaí terminal
Located at the Port of Sepetiba in the state of Rio de Janeiro, this terminal is operated by a wholly owned Vale subsidiary, Cia. Portuária Baía de Sepetiba (CPBS). It is used to export iron ore.
Ilha Guaíba terminal
Located on Guaíba Island in Sepetiba Bay in the state of Rio de Janeiro, this terminal is used to export iron ore.
Regulation:
Gregório Curvo terminal
Located in Corumbá, on the left bank of the Paraguay River in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, it is a terminal used to move iron ore.
Photo: Ricardo Teles
Sohar port
Located in Oman, in Gulf of Oman, the Port of Sohar has an iron ore terminal built for Vale’s operations, and is capable of accommodating Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs). From there, iron ore can be distributed in smaller ships to nearby locations.
Teluk Rubiah terminal
Located in Malaysia, in the state of Perak, the maritime terminal began operating in November 2014. It is composed of a deep-water port and five stockyards, where different types of iron ore may be blended and customized in line with steel companies’ needs. Equipped with an import berth capable of unloading ships of up to 400,000 metric tonnage and an export berth able to load Capesize ships, the maritime terminal acts as a distribution centre for Asia, maintaining a constant stock of Brazilian iron ore.
Balantang Special port
Located in Balantang Village in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, this port belongs to PT Vale Indonesia (PTVI), which operates a facility for loading barges with dry bulk goods and a general cargo wharf.
Tanjung Mangkasa
Located in Haparan Tanjung Mangkasa Village in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, this port has mooring buoys to accommodate ships and a terminal that can receive tankers.
Nueva Palmira
Vale Logística Uruguay operates with a private terminal in the Port of Nueva Palmira in Uruguay to store and handle iron ore and manganese.
Nacala-à-Velha Port
This multiuser port is located in the district of Nacala-à-Velha, province of Nampula (north of the country). It was created for the logistics of the coal from Moatize mine, a central province of Tete. The trains carrying the ore travel 912 km, from Malawi to the port.
It is a deep-water port with a 20-meter draft and capacity for 18 million metric tons per year.
The port complex consists of:
- 1 rotary car dumper: 4,800t/h
- 2 forklift trucks: 4,800t/h
- 2 reclaimers: 5,100t/h
- 2 ship loaders: 5,100t/h
- 1 conveyor belt system: 13km
- 3 coal stockyards with capacity for 1,000,000 metric tons.
The natural characteristics of the port enable operations at any time of the day.
Resolution
Terminal Information
Shipping
Vale operates large vessels, which guarantee economy and agility in the transportation of ore. The fleet consists of its own and chartered vessels to serve the market worldwide on equal terms with our main competitors.
Get to know some of the vessels that use our ports:
Capesize
Capacity: 170,000 metric tons
Some vessels are known as Capesize ships because they were too big to cross the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal. To cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, they had to cross the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn.
VLOC
Capacity: 375,000 metric tons
At the beginning of 2000, the growth of Chinese demand led Vale to study the use of large vessels – the Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs). These vessels usually make the journey between Brazil, where our main operations are, and Asia.
ValeMax
Capacity: 4000,000 metric tons
They are the largest and most efficient ore carriers in the world, with a capacity 2.3 times greater than that of Capesize, a standard ore transport vessel. Greenhouse gas emissions can be up to 41% lower, reducing environmental risks.
For being less polluting, the first Valemax – Vale Brasil – received the Nor-Shipping Clean Ship Award, in Norway, and the RINA Award Significant Ship from the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.
Valemax ships regularly dock at 10 ports, in addition to two Vale floating stations in the Philippines: Tubarão and Ponta da Madeira (Brazil), Rotterdam (Germany), Taranto (Italy), Sohar (Oman), Korea, Kashima, Kmitsu and Oita (Japan), as well as Mindanao and transfer stations (Philippines).
Tugboat
Vale also has its own tugboat fleet, designed to push and pull vessels at our terminals and ports, increasing the efficiency and safety of these operations.
Global ship tracking
The line of ships in our ports is available for viewing on the GPV Dashboard application. If you are a registered user, use your login to access. If you do not have access to the tool, submit your request to vessels.lineup@vale.com including the completed form. The request will be analyzed.
Click here to download the form
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