Vale has received the installation license for the expansion of the Carajas railroad, which connects Vale's mining operations in the state of Para to the Ponta da Madeira maritime terminal in Maranhão, Brazil.
The license, along with the simultaneously issued Authorization of Removal of Vegetation (ASV), permits the beginning of capacity expansion of the EFC to 230 million metric tons per year (mtpy), an important component of the CLN S11D project, which in turn will provide the extension of the logistics infrastructure required to support the 90 mtpy Carajás Serra Sul S11D iron ore project. The project is expected to be completed by 2017.
The initial ramp up of iron ore production is expected for the second half of 2016 and operation at full capacity should occur at the end of 2017. The additional 90 mtpy capacity's operational cost - mine, plant, railway and port - should be extremely low and will create future brownfield expansion opportunities with likewise very low investment costs.