Gustavo Poloni
Source: Portal IG (published on 26 July 2010)
Costing R$19.9 billion, the new mine will produce 90 million tons of iron ore per year to meet global demand. Called S11D, the mine will be the biggest in Vale’s history.
When it begins production in 2013, S11D will increase the market’s annual supply of iron ore by 90 million tons, more than one third of Vale’s iron ore output last year and the same capacity as that of the largest open-pit mine in the world, in Serra dos Carajás, Pará.
To implement the project, the mining company will spend US$11.3 billion (R$ 19.9 billion), twice its 2009 annual profit. This heavy investment is underpinned by solid demand: a report published last week estimates that worldwide iron ore consumption will rise by 70% from 2010 to 2015, reaching 1.7 billion tons per year.
Economic growth is raising iron ore consumption
Produced by Global Industry Analysts (GIA), the study shows that growing iron ore consumption is resulting from economic growth in emerging countries, especially China. The heaviest users of iron ore include the car and construction industries.
Vale has not yet disclosed details about the new mine. It is known that it is located in Canaã dos Carajás, a municipality of 23,000 inhabitants in southeast Pará, and that it will have almost the same initial production capacity as Vale’s existing mine at Carajás Complex. Discovered in 1967 and opened in 1985, the latter was initially planned to produce 35 million tons per year.
Find out more:
Infographic showing how Carajás iron mine works
Annual production is expected to rise to more than 110 million tons
Read the full article on IG’s website