Tag Archives: Ubu

Samarco sets monthly iron ore pellet production record with Metso unit

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Samarco Mineração S.A. has set a monthly production record during August 2023 of 824,829 t of high-grade pellets in a single pelletising line with its 816 sq.m Metso Pelletizing Plant Indurating Machine #4 at its Ubu site in Brazil.

On an annalised basis, the production is equivalent to approximately 8.8- 9 Mt/y of pellets from a single machine. Samarco has installed three additional Metso Pelletizing Plants at its Ubu site.

Pedro Sousa, Sales Manager, Ferrous & Heat Transfer, South America, said: “We’re very excited to see Samarco breaking their monthly iron ore pellet production record and would like to congratulate the whole team for this great achievement. It makes us proud to see how our solutions are helping our customers improve their pelletising operations while simultaneously supporting the journey toward decarbonisation.”

Currently, only the Plant #4 is in operation, with Samarco and Metso discussing the revamp of the three other plants to continue increasing pellet production and decarbonising the steel industry processes using sustainable technologies, according to Samarco’s gradual production revamp plan. Related test work and studies are currently being performed at Metso’s R&D facility in Frankfurt, Germany.

Metso’s traveling grate pelletising process produces uniform pellets, ensuring high performance and quality with low investment and operating costs, as well as decreased energy consumption and emissions, according to the OEM.

Samarco is a joint venture owned by Vale and BHP. Samarco’s principal place of business is in Belo Horizonte, with units operating in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. The company’s main product is iron ore pellets, the raw material for steel production.

Samarco iron ore pellet operations restart five years after Fundão tailings dam spill

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BHP and Vale have confirmed their joint venture Samarco iron ore business has restarted operations in Brazil, more than five years after the failure of the Fundão dam led to its suspension.

Samarco’s gradual restart of operations incorporates concentrator 3 at the Germano complex in Minas Gerais and pelletising plant 4 at Ubu in Espírito Santo, as well as a new system of tailings disposal combining a confined pit and tailings filtering system for dry stacking, BHP said.

With the new filtration process, Samarco expects to be able to substantially dewater sand tailings, which represent 80% of total tailings by volume, and safely stack these filtered sand tailings in piles, Vale said. The remaining 20% of tailings are planned to be deposited in the Alegria Sul pit, a bedrock self-contained structure. Additionally, Samarco is progressing in the decommissioning of the Germano tailings dam to improve safety standards.

“Independent tests have been carried out on Samarco’s preparations for a safe restart of operations,” BHP added.

Samarco expects initially to produce around 7-8 Mt/y of iron ore pellets from the use of one of three concentrators to beneficiate iron ore from the Germano complex and one of four pellet plants in the Ubu complex, representing 26% of Samarco’s productive capacity.

Vale explained: “The integrated restart of operations occurs after an extensive commissioning test, ensuring a safe resumption after five years.”

Following the Corrective Operation Licence received in October 2019, Samarco expects to be able to restart a second concentrator in around five years to reach a range of production of some 14-16 Mt/y. The restart of the third concentrator could happen in around nine years, Vale said, when Samarco expects to reach a production volume of around 22-24 Mt/y.

The extensive work undertaken by the Renova Foundation, a collaboration between Vale, BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda and Samarco, to remediate and compensate for the damages of the failure of the Fundão dam in November 2015 continues, BHP said. The foundation is responsible for carrying out programs to repair the social and environmental impacts.

By November 2020, Renova had spent approximately $2.1 billion on its remediation and compensation programs. By November 2020, around $620 million had been paid in indemnities and emergency financial aid to approximately 325,000 people.