Ahead of schedule, the Brazilian iron ore and pellets producer, Samarco, has restarted its pellet plant number three (P3) which was idled since the collapse of the Mariana dam in 2015.
The restart of P3 was originally scheduled for Q1 of 2025.
Samarco is currently operating with only one of its four pellet plants, the P4 plant, at a production pace of 9.0 million mt per year.
P3 will conclude its ramp-up process by the end of the year when Samarco will reach a production pace of 15 million mt per year. The full capacity of 30 million mt per year is scheduled for 2028.
The restart of P3 includes a new rejects filtering plant and the reactivation of an iron ore concentration in the Germano mine, in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. The total cost of the reactivation is evaluated at $300 million.
Samarco is an association of the Brazilian miner, Vale, and BHP.