Brazil's Vale restarts licensing process for Apolo iron ore project

Banny Cosmic International Holdings

23/11/2021 19:48

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian miner Vale
 VALE3.SA  has restarted the process of acquiring environmental
licenses for its Apolo iron ore project in the state of Minas
Gerais following a major revision of the original plan, the
company said in a presentation on Tuesday.
    The plans for the project, which has a capacity of 14
million tonnes per year and a lifespan of 29 years, have been
revised to reduce its environmental impact, the company said.
    According to the presentation made to the Minas Gerais state
assembly, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, the company
expects to receive the necessary licenses to begin operations by
2028.
    In the latest plan, Vale said it has done away with the need
for tailings dams and reduced the total area required for the
project.
    Tailings dams, used to store mining waste, have come under
increased scrutiny in Brazil following two deadly disasters in
recent years. The most recent dam failure, which killed 270
people, happened at a Vale mine in the state of Minas Gerais in
2019.

 (Reporting by Marta Nogueira, writing by Stephen Eisenhammer;
editing by David Evans)
 ((stephen.eisenhammer@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 5644 7726;))