World’s largest iron ore miner- Vale on 25th Oct informed that Samarco received Corrective Operation License (LOC) for its activities in Minas Gerais. The license was approved by the Mining Activities Chamber (CMI) of the State Council for Environmental Policy (COPAM). Samarco has obtained all environmental licenses and is expected to restart operation towards the end of 2020.
The process of iron ore extraction and pelletization plant will restart only after implementation of filtration system, which is expected to take construction time of about 12 months. Following changes to the environmental and regulatory frameworks for mining in Brazil in 2019, Samarco adjusted its mining and tailings disposal assumptions.
Hence, following the installation of the filtration technology, Samarco expects to restart operations through one concentrator and produce around 7-8 MnT. It is currently expected that a second concentrator could be restarted in approximately 6 years to reach a range of production of approximately 14-16 MnT per annum, and the restart of the third concentrator may take place in around 10 years after the issuance of the LOC, when Samarco expects to reach annual production volume in a range of approximately 22-24 MnT per annum.
Samarco, a joint venture of Vale SA and BHP Billiton, after being shut for a period of around four years has reached an agreement for operation resumption. The Samarco pellet plant bear’s pellet making capacity of around 30 MnT per year, and was suspended post a dam failure occurred in November 2015, resulting in loss of life and property.
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