Vale halts operations at Alegria mine

The world’s largest iron ore producer, Vale, announced it has halted production at the Alegria iron mine in the Mariana complex of Minas Gerais even though the mine complex is stable. However, stress tests to assess the stability of the mine’s structures were inconclusive. The preventative measure may reduce Vale’s iron ore production capacity by a further 10m tons per year.

Vale plans to resume production after conducting more tests that are conclusive. However, there has been confusion with the term “structures”; in 2015 the mine faced dam failure, and since then, Alegria has been operating at a reduced rate using dry processing only.

Last week, DatamarNews reported that a Brazilian court had ordered Vale to suspend operations at Timbopeba mine following a legal case filed by the Public Prosecution Office in Minas Gerais.

The following DataLiner graph shows 10-year iron ore (HS 2601) export trends against export revenues:

Sharing is caring!