Brazilian miner Vale has announced that it has obtained the preliminary environmental license from Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA for the expansion of its Carajas mine in Brazil.
The licensing enables Vale to begin preparations for the expansion of the N4WS, N5S, Morro I and Morro II pits at the Carajás mine, which combined hold 1.8 billion mt of iron ore reserves. The next step in the environmental licensing process is to obtain the installation and operation licenses, as well as the authorization for vegetation suppression.
"We are very pleased because the preliminary license represents an important step to delivering the production growth of iron ore and to reaching our goals", said Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira.