Brazilian miner Vale said on Monday it provisionally halted operations at its Laranjeiras dam, located at its Brucutu mine, for up to a two-month period.
Vale did not provide a specific reason for halting activities at the Laranjeiras dam, but said it is evaluating the “geotechnical characteristics of the dam.” During the halt, the dam will adopt a level 1 security protocol, which does not require the miner to evacuate nearby communities.
Vale said the Laranjeiras dam has a valid stability certificate, despite provisionally halting its operations. The stability certificate for the structure was issued on September 30, 2019. Due to the dam halt, Vale said its Brucutu mine will operate at 40 percent its capacity. The Laranjeiras dam halt will affect Vale’s iron ore capacity in 1.5 million mt/month.
The miner said the halt doesn’t change its iron ore and pellets sales guidance for 2019, which remains between the 307-312 million mt/year range for iron ore, and 83-88 million mt/year for pellets.
Vale said both iron ore output and sales in Q1 2020 should reach between 68-73 million mt due to seasonality and thanks to the “gradual resumption of (the Laranjeiras dam).”
The company also said the guidance for Q1 is due to the company’s strategy that favors margins over volumes.