Brazil-based mining giant Vale has announced that sixty percent of the physical construction works on its S11D iron ore project, the world’s largest iron ore project, which includes a mine, plant, and railway and port logistics, has been completed, and the project will start production in the second half of 2016. The project has an estimated production capacity of 90 million mt per year.
Vale stated that total investment for the project will be $14.4 billion, $6.5 billion in the mine and plant, and $7.9 billion in building a 101-km railway branch line, double-tracking the Carajás Railway and expanding the Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal in São Luís, Maranhão.
Alongside other new projects and expansion work in Pará and Minas Gerais, S11D will help Vale to increase its production of high-quality, low-cost iron ore. It is estimated that the company's annual output will grow by 35 percent in the next four years, from 340 million mt in 2015 to 459 million mt in 2019. In addition, thanks to S11D, the operating costs in Vale's North System, which includes Carajás, will fall below the current level of $10 per dry metric ton.