[Ferro-Alloys.com] 

Samarco to invest more than $1bn to resume full capacity

Samarco Minercao expects to invest more than $1-billion to return its iron-ore operations to full capacity by January 2028 — a date that’s more than 12 years after the operation was first sidelined after a deadly mining tailings dam disaster.

That’s according to some of the company’s top executives, including CEO Rodrigo Vilela, who spoke with Bloomberg News in an interview. The exact budget will be confirmed next year. The producer is a joint Brazilian venture between Vale and BHP Group.

On Monday, the site reached the milestone of being back to 60% of capacity. Operations are restarting at a second concentration facility and a new tailings filtration plant.

Samarco expects to produce 15 million tons of iron ore pellets in 2025, returning to a top-3 ranking for global exporters of the steelmaking ingredient alongside LKAB and top producer Vale. That would compare with roughly nine-million tons for this year, with output shipped to steel mills in Japan, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.

• [Editor:邢亚敏]