Coema, a Ceara state environment authority, has approved an environmental impact study (EIS) for a calcareous mining project that is expected to supply chalk to Vale’s co-owned slab producer, Companhia Siderurgica do Pecem (CSP). CSP is a slabs JV owned by Vale, Dongkuk and Posco.
According a government news agency, the project to explore a calcareous mine will be developed by mining company Mineracao Belocal. The company’s plant is expected be built in the city of Quixere, in the state of Ceara, and will be able to produce about 200,000 mt of chalk per year.
The plant should meet the state’s growing demand for the product, “especially” CSP’s demand for the product, but the government news agency did not specify how much chalk CSP would buy from the project once it is completed.