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Heavy Rains in Minas Gerais Disrupt Production of Mining Companies
The state of Minas Gerais has been hit by such heavy rains that the production of mining companies had to be halted. Among the suspended operations are Vale, one of the largest iron ore suppliers in the world, CSN, Usiminas, and Vallourec, whose production was interrupted by the courts after a dam overflowed.
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During the morning of the 10th, Vale stated that it needed to partially suspend its production in the Southeast and South systems. According to the mining company, the decision aims to ensure that employees are safe due to the level of rainfall in Minas Gerais. Despite the situation, Vale’s planning already considers the rainy season, maintaining its production estimate of iron ore between 320 and 335 million tons.
The mining company highlighted that it continues to monitor the rains in Minas Gerais, keeping its dams monitored continuously and in real time. The strong concern of the mining companies is about the safety of the dams, due to the recent tragedies in Mariana and Brumadinho.
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Regarding Mineração Usiminas, production in Minas Gerais will resume when weather conditions are favorable for the proper functioning of the equipment and after a review of the facilities. The company states that, for now, the suspension of the mining operations will not affect its steel production, as there is stock available.
In turn, CSN said that operations at the Casa de Pedra mine are temporarily halted, but could resume activities in the coming days. In Rio, also due to the rains, the loading of ore at the Coal Terminal in the port of Itaguaí is suspended.
According to experts consulted by Estadão, it is still too early to determine the impact on the expected iron ore production volumes for this year – and whether there will be pressure on the commodity’s prices, considering that Brazil is a major exporter of the input.
“Short-Term Suspensions”
The chairman of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Mining Institute (Ibram), Wilson Brumer, states: “I believe these are short-term suspensions, and I do not foresee potential changes in projections. My perception, in the case of exports, is that there are stocks in ports to meet demand. And in the case of the domestic market, there are stocks at the plants”.
January is typically rainy, though this year the rains have been more pronounced, it is still normal, according to analysts from BTG Pactual. However, they agree with the suspensions in Minas Gerais: “After past dam incidents, we welcome the zero-tolerance approach that mining companies are adopting in the country to minimize operational risks.”
Closed Mines
In the Southeast System, Vale’s Mariana and Brucutu mines have been suspended. In the South System, due to the interdiction of the BR-040 and MG-030 roads, overall production of the complexes has been halted. The Northern System of the mining company has not been affected and continues to operate normally. BTG emphasized that one-third of Vale’s capacity is currently suspended.
In the case of CSN, production at its main mine, Casa de Pedra, located in Congonhas, Minas Gerais, has been affected. Usiminas has suspended all iron ore production so far.
Small Mines Also Affected
In addition to the large mining companies, small-scale mines are also waiting for the rains to end before restarting production. One example is Atlântica Mineração, which had to suspend its expansion works due to the situation. “We have two mines ready to start operations, but we can’t even take the equipment there, as we need to make some improvements to the access roads,” says the company’s director, Maurício Índio do Brasil.
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