Brazilian miner and iron ore producer Vale expects Samarco to resume its operations by October this year, despite Samarco’s own forecast of a 2018 restart.
Samarco, a 50/50 JV between Vale and BHP Billiton, said earlier this year a restart by the second half of the year (H2) was “unlikely,” due to the long wait for pending permits in the city of Santa Barbara, in the state of Minas Gerais.
However, Luciano Siani, Vale’s finance and investor relations director, told investors this week Samarco could resume activities by October this year, according to Brazilian media group Estadao. Vale is said to be “cautiously optimistic” regarding the restart.
Siani said Samarco should still deal with creditors, since the company is in “default,” and needs to make overdue payments.