Vale’s Board of Directors has approved the expansion and further development of its iron ore mine in Canaã dos Carajás, Brazil.
The expansion of the Serra Sul 120 Project will increase the company’s annual iron ore mining capacity from the site by 20mn mt to 120mn mt, the Brazilian miner announced in a press release on August 13.
Vale plans to invest $1.5bn in the project over a four-year period and has slated mining operations at the site to begin by H1 2024. The project costs include opening new areas of the Serra Sul 120 mine, adding new processing lines and one more long-distance conveyor belt, and expanding storage areas.
Moreover, the company said it would revise its investment guidance for 2021 which currently stands at $4.5bn to include these new costs.
Carbon neutrality in mining
Vale also plans to become a carbon-neutral miner over the next 30 years. The company unveiled aggressive targets to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in an investor presentation on Friday, which includes 100pc self-generation of clean energy across its global operations, reducing new water collection by 10pc and aligning its greenhouse gas emissions to the Paris Agreement to achieve 33pc reduction.
The firm’s new carbon neutrality initiatives currently cover its high-grade iron ore and pellets as well as nickel mining operations and its Valemax shipments. Moving forward, Vale said it would also include targets for its shipping, steelmaking, and metallics operations.
The new sustainability agenda also includes compensation for its Brumadinho dam damages caused to the community in Minas Gerais. The miner plans to complete these reparations by 2025.