Vallourec Brazil, the local subsidiary of French pipe maker Vallourec, is seeking a deal with authorities to resume operations at its Pau Branco iron ore mine, according to a media report by Valor.
The company is in talks with mining regulator, the National Mining Agency (ANM), to set a commitment term, in which it would compensate social and environment damages. Vallourec Brazil was already fined by Minas Gerais state authorities, as reported by SteelOrbis, and authorities, including the Federal Police and state environment regulator, Semad, are also investigating claims of potential irregular activities, following the overflow of its Lisa dam this week.
The incident was caused following intense rainfall in Minas Gerais state, which also forced other producers, such as Vale, Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) and Usiminas to temporarily suspend iron ore activities.
Vallourec Brazil’s deal aims to resume operations at its Pau Branco iron ore mine. The mine suspended activities on January 8. The company said it is using existing iron ore inventories to compensate the lack of iron ore output.
“Eventually, we will buy iron ore from third-party companies to keep up our pelletizing activities,” Alexandre Lyra, the company’s CEO, told Valor in an interview.