Brazilian firm Ferroport, a joint venture between Prumo and Anglo American, has reached a new milestone in exporting 85mn mt of iron ore over the past six years at the Açu Port complex. Since its inception, Ferroport has handled 550 vessels, loaded with iron ore from Anglo American, the firm said in a recent media statement.
In March alone, the company transported 2.4mn mt of iron ore, Carsten Bosselmann, Ferroport’s chief executive officer, pointed out. The iron ore extracted from the Anglo American mine arrives at the port through the largest pipeline in the world, with 529 km of length, which crosses 33 municipalities in southeastern Brazil.
The iron ore terminal, operated by Ferroport has an annual handling capacity of 26.5mn mt per year under the 25-year joint venture contract. The terminal is 20.5m deep, permitting it to accommodate Capesize vessels, which have the capacity to transport 220,000dwt of iron ore.
Brazil’s iron ore exports rose by 11.2pc to 103.2mn mt in Q3 2020 from 92.8mn mt in the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the Brazilian Mining Association (Ibram). Meanwhile, crude steel production rose by 7.5pc to 2.6mn mt in September on an annual basis.