Brazilian pellet producer Samarco, a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Vale and BHP Billiton, said this week federal environment regulator Ibama awarded a license for three iron ore slurry pipelines, connecting two states.
The company said the license, which has a 10-year timeline, covers three iron ore slurry pipelines that will eventually transport the commodity between the company’s Germano complex in Minas Gerais state to its Ubu complex in Espirito Santo state. Samarco said it will “gradually” transport the iron ore through the slurry pipelines.
The company halted operations in November 2015, following a deadly iron ore waste dam burst. It hasn’t resumed activities since then, despite several delayed estimates.