Brazilian miner Vale said it was on schedule to reach its expected target of producing 400mn mt of iron ore, either near the end of 2022 or by early 2023.
The company’s latest comments serve as an update on the projected timeframe for meeting its iron ore capacity expansion goals, following the company’s prior statement that it would reach these volume capacity plans at some point.
A company spokesperson said that Vale is already producing 1mn mt of iron ore per day, according to media reports, and by 2023, only 20pc of the miner’s capacity will be constrained by upstream dams that are similar to those that collapsed in Brumadinho and Mariana.
These accidents led to work stoppages which spurred the miner to make changes in environmental, social, and governance plans.
Vale is still on target to attain a production range of 310-330mn mt in 2020, which is below its 2018 production level of 385mn mt that was achieved prior to the dam collapse at Brumadinho.