Brazilian miner Samarco, a joint venture between Vale (NYSE: VALE) and BHP (ASX: BHP) expects to regain the position of world’s second-largest exporter of iron ore pellets starting in 2028, the firm’s chief executive officer Rodrigo Vilela said on Tuesday.
Samarco has fallen in the pellet exporters ranking, which is led by Vale, after halting some operations following the deadly collapse of its Fundao tailings dam in 2015.
Samarco expects to again reach full capacity — 26 million to 27 million metric tons per year of iron ore fines and pellets — in 2028, from about 60% of that amount currently, Vilela said.
To implement the plan, Samarco expects to invest 13.8 billion reais ($2.7 billion), he added during a mining event in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.
Samarco’s current focus is on reparations related to the dam collapse and on restoring output capacity, but it could seek to expand production capacity in the future, Vilela said.
The firm expects to produce 2 million tons of iron ore fines from tailings by 2028, compared to 300,000 tons so far in 2026.
($1 = 5.1479 reais)
(Reporting by Marta Nogueira; Writing by Andre Romani; Editing by Chris Reese and Aurora Ellis)
