Brazil’s Vale (NYSE:VALE), the world’s No.1 iron ore miner, saw output of the steelmaking commodity collapse by almost 34% in the second quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2018.
The drop to 64.057 million tonnes came as several major operations, including Brucutu, which is the Rio de Janeiro-based firms’ biggest mine in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, remained all or partially shut down following a deadly dam burst at the company’s Corrego do Feijão mine.
Vale also said that iron ore sales from
March to June had dropped by 15.5% to 61.945 million tonnes.
Since January’s dam collapse, which left at least 300 people
dead, both authorities and companies have stepped up scrutiny of so-called
upstream dams, the cheapest but generally regarded as the riskiest method to
store mine waste.
In March, Vale was forced to shut its Timbopeba mine, which produced 12.8 million tonnes of iron ore per year, due to safety concerns. It also suspended operations at its Mariana complex, where a similar accident occurred in 2015, killing 19 people and flooding the local area.
The company later received an order
to halt another two dams — Minervino and Cordao Nova Vista.
More to come…