By: Keith Campbell
5th October 2012
Mining Weekly
Brazilian mining group Vale, the world’s biggest iron-ore producer and second-biggest mining group (in terms of market capitalisation), is not concerned by the fall in the iron-ore price over the course of this year and is confident of continuing growth in steel demand in China next year.
So far this year, the price of iron-ore has declined by 20% to around $104/t.
“We believe that prices will remain at this level for the time being, between $100 and $120, with strong volatility,” Vale executive director: ferrous metals and strategy José Carlos Martins told the Reuters news agency last week.
Vale believes that the current low price levels will drive high-cost iron-ore miners out of the market. Reuters reported that the the drop in prices for the metal had forced almost 40% of China’s iron-ore mines to stop or suspend production.
“With low-cost producers and a focus on cost and quality, we believe that, independent of growth, there is space for our company, our projects, and our ore will gain market [share],” said Martins.
The Brazilian group predicts that Chinese steel production will increase by 3% to 5% next year. Vale expects to produce 312-million tons of iron-ore this year, rising to 320-million tons next year.
A very material manifestation of Vale’s confidence in the future of the iron-ore market is a machine designated EP-313K-06, now undergoing testing at the group’s Ponta da Madeira export terminal in the harbour city of São Luís, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. EP-313K-06 is the world’s biggest iron-ore stacker.
The new stacker is scheduled to enter operational service in December. It is 45 m high – equivalent to a 15-storey building – and has a weight of 1 800 t. It can stack at a rate of 20 000 t/h and is remotely controlled from the terminal’s operational control centre (OCC).
(In April 2010, Ponta da Madeira became the first port terminal in Brazil in which all the machinery in the ore stockpile area was converted to remote control; everything is now driven by operators at the OCC, which lies some 3 km from the stockpile area.)
Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu
5th October 2012
Mining Weekly
Brazilian mining group Vale, the world’s biggest iron-ore producer and second-biggest mining group (in terms of market capitalisation), is not concerned by the fall in the iron-ore price over the course of this year and is confident of continuing growth in steel demand in China next year.
So far this year, the price of iron-ore has declined by 20% to around $104/t.
“We believe that prices will remain at this level for the time being, between $100 and $120, with strong volatility,” Vale executive director: ferrous metals and strategy José Carlos Martins told the Reuters news agency last week.
Vale believes that the current low price levels will drive high-cost iron-ore miners out of the market. Reuters reported that the the drop in prices for the metal had forced almost 40% of China’s iron-ore mines to stop or suspend production.
“With low-cost producers and a focus on cost and quality, we believe that, independent of growth, there is space for our company, our projects, and our ore will gain market [share],” said Martins.
The Brazilian group predicts that Chinese steel production will increase by 3% to 5% next year. Vale expects to produce 312-million tons of iron-ore this year, rising to 320-million tons next year.
A very material manifestation of Vale’s confidence in the future of the iron-ore market is a machine designated EP-313K-06, now undergoing testing at the group’s Ponta da Madeira export terminal in the harbour city of São Luís, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. EP-313K-06 is the world’s biggest iron-ore stacker.
The new stacker is scheduled to enter operational service in December. It is 45 m high – equivalent to a 15-storey building – and has a weight of 1 800 t. It can stack at a rate of 20 000 t/h and is remotely controlled from the terminal’s operational control centre (OCC).
(In April 2010, Ponta da Madeira became the first port terminal in Brazil in which all the machinery in the ore stockpile area was converted to remote control; everything is now driven by operators at the OCC, which lies some 3 km from the stockpile area.)
Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu
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