Brazilian miner Vale has announced its decision to temporarily suspend operations at its Teluk Rubiah Maritime Terminal (TRMT) in Malaysia from March 24 until at least March 31 as the coronavirus continues to spread in the Southeast Asian country.
Vale said it took this decision as it is temporarily unable to secure the minimum resources to safely operate the terminal.
Vessels heading to the TRMT will be redirected and redistributed among Vale’s blending facilities in China.
Vale expects no impact on production and sales volume in 2020, but an impact on sales of around 500,000 tons in the first quarter.
“Vale reaffirms its commitment to the safety of its people and the communities in which it operates and will keep investors and markets informed of future developments,” the company said in a release.
Vale’s TRMT terminal handled 23.7m tonnes of iron ore shipments in the year of 2019.
