Vale’s largest iron ore project, SD11, is ahead of schedule, a Vale’s executive said this week.
According to the company’s financial director, Luciano Siani, the Carajas mining complex, which is located in the northern region of Brazil, could start-up before December 2016, as the company previously expected, Siani said.
Despite sounding as bad news for the global iron ore market, the Vale executive said the Brazilian miner expects to control the speed of one of its main projects, so it wouldn’t hit the market.
The executive said Vale will manage the ramp-up of the project as a way to preserve the premium for what Vale has been defining as a “high grade ore”.
The SD11 mine is expected to add some 90 million mt of capacity per year to the global supply, however as the project advances, Vale will succeed in its goal of developing a lower cost initiative.
In a meeting with investors this week, the company said the project has an output cost of $10.70/mt, which is lower than Rio Tinto’s $14.40/mt per port cost.