Vale obtains licence to expand Brazil’s Corumbá iron ore project

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Located in the country’s mid-western Mato Grosso do Sul state, Vale said the details of the Corumbá project are yet to be defined.

“The expansion plan [at Corumbá] depends on further internal and market studies,” a company spokeswoman told Steel First on Tuesday March 25.

The project aims to increase iron ore production capacity at Corumbá to 10.5 million tpy from current 4 million tpy, according to an environmental study presented by Vale to Ibama.

The expansion plan includes the construction of a processing plant, energy lines and a water supply system, according to the report.

But Vale needs to secure a final licence before it can start this expansion

The report says the additional capacity could be put into operation within 29 months.

In 2013, the Corumbá mine produced 4.49 million tonnes of iron ore, down from 4.61 million tonnes a year earlier, according to Vale’s annual production report.