Vale expects landslide-hit Carajás railway to resume operations by Wednesday

Rail services for Vale’s Carajás operations are suspended after heavy rain caused a landslide at the Estrada de Ferro de Carajás (EFC) railway at the KM378+200 stretch, in the municipality of Bom Jesus das Selvas, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão

The miner said the incident did not cause any casualties and that the affected area was under evaluation. Meanwhile, its mine and port will continue to operate normally through inventory management.

Vale expects rail services to resume by Wednesday March 9, it said on Tuesday March 8.

The miner said that the rainy season in the north of Brazil would have minimal impact on production at its Northern System, which would be offset throughout the year.

Its 2022 production guidance of 320-335 million tonnes remains unchanged, it said.

A tender for 150,000 tonnes of Vale’s Iron Ore Carajas fines on Monday, with a bill of lading dated March 3, was not concluded at the end of the day, market sources told Fastmarkets.

“The supply concerns may have given some support to high-grade fines, but currently end-user demand for seaborne cargoes is limited,” a Shanghai-based trader said.

Fastmarkets’ index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao was $191.70 per tonne on Monday, up by $8.60 per tonne from last Friday.

To keep up with iron ore price trends throughout 2022, visit our iron ore page.

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