Brazil’s Vale (NYSE:VALE), the world’s biggest iron ore producer, has received board approval for a long-sought expansion of the already massive S11D iron ore mine, in the northern state of Pará.
The $1.5 billion Serra Sul 120 project aims to increase the S11D mine-plant capacity by 20 million tonnes to 120 million tonnes of iron ore a year. Once completed, it raise output at Vale’s North System to 260 million tonnes a year.
The Rio de Janeiro-based mining giant said Serra Sul 120 will begin in the first half of 2024. It added that bringing forward the multi-year project and the ongoing impact from the coronavirus pandemic means the company will have to revise guidance on investments for 2021 and the 2022-2024 period.
More to come…