Brazilian miner Vale is indefinitely halting operations at its Fazendão iron ore mine in the Catas Altas municipality after an expansion permit was revoked by the local environment development council.
Operations at the mine were suspended on Feb 28 because of concerns that the local community’s water supply would diminish, the municipality said in a statement.
The project to expand the Fazendão mine includes the São Luiz, Tamanduá and Almas deposits, and would have increased production from 17mn mt to 25mn mt per annum.
Vale declined comment to Davis Index, specifically whether or not halting operations will affect its overall iron supply and demand.
Vale expects to increase its iron ore output by 18pc to 355,000mt in 2020.