Rodrigo Vilela, CEO of Brazilian iron ore and pellet producer Samarco, has stated in an interview with Bloomberg that the company intends to invest $1 billion to bring its iron ore production capacity at its Mariana complex back to full capacity utilization by 2028. The details of the investment will be confirmed in 2025. The company halted production in November 2015 following the collapse of the Mariana tailings dam in the state of Minas Gerais and resumed production five years later.
Vilela stated that production capacity utilization at its mining complex in Mariana reached 60 percent as of mid-December this year and that the company expects to produce 15 million mt of pellets by 2025, which will put Samarco among the top three global exporters in the market. The company will also transition to a safer tailing management system with the closure of the Germano dam in 2026.
In addition, the CEO noted that the first quarter of the next year will be more challenging for iron ore prices due to the slowdown in the Chinese economy.