Brazilian miner Vale has partially and gradually restarted operations in the state of Minas Gerais after being forced to shut certain mines last week owing to severe rains in the region, which raised the danger of accidents and created logistical disruptions.
Vale said the Brucutu and Mariana mines, both in its Southeastern system, are steadily ramping up output as a section of its Vitoria-Minas railway was cleaned, allowing the iron ore to be transferred.
In the Southern system, Vale reported that the Aboboras, Vargem Grande, Fabrica and Viga plants, which account for half of the system’s current capacity, have been progressively resuming operations over the last few days.
The company added that the remaining plants should be resumed in the following days when additional work to re-establish proper operational conditions and normalisation of rail transportation has been completed.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) filing, these production suspensions impacted Vale’s iron ore production by around 1.5m tonnes. Nonetheless, the business confirmed its 2022 iron ore output projection of 320m to 335m tonnes.
Heavy rains in southeastern Brazil forced miners, including Vale, to halt operations in the top mining state of Minas Gerais. Vale stated last week that there had been no change in the level of emergency in any of its structures. However, in an update on Monday, the miner noted that two structures in Minas Gerais remain on alert.
