Vale announced it has invested nearly R$66 billion (US$ 17.5 billion) installing and expanding the use of dry processing for production at its iron ore operations in Brazil during the last 10 years. It estimates it will spend an additional R$11 billion (US$ 2.5 billion) in similar processing facilities over the next several years. Currently about 60% of Vale’s production is from dry processing and the goal is to reach 70%, according to the company.
Vale said the “natural moisture” or dry approach for processing is used at its Carajás, Serra Leste and the S11D Eliezer Batista Complex, in Pará, Brazil, and several plants in Minas Gerais. The main Carajás plant is being converted to dry processing. Eleven of the plant’s 17 processing lines are “dry” and the remaining six wet lines will be converted by 2022.
