Brazil-based mining giant Vale has announced that it has obtained the installation environmental license (LI) for its Carajás S11D iron ore project, the highest grade and lowest cost world-class project in the industry. With the issuance of the LI, Vale's board of directors approved the complete S11D program, comprised of investments in the mine, processing plant, railway capacity and port.
The project with an annual capacity of 90 million metric tons per year is the largest project in Vale's history and also in the iron ore industry. The S11D project is expected to start up in the second half of 2016 and to deliver full capacity production in the 2018 calendar year. The total capital expenditure for the project has been estimated at $19.67 billion.