Brazil-headquartered iron-ore and nickel producer Vale is reinforcing the Minas Gerais region as a hub for iron-ore production from circular sources, having advanced a circular mining programme at the suspended Gongo Soco mine.

The company is implementing a project to reprocess tailings from the mine’s decommissioned Sul Superior dam, which was determined to have elevated safety risk levels in 2019.  

The company will install a tailings reprocessing plant designed to produce two-million tons of iron-ore a year.

Production from the Gongo Soco mine was suspended in 2016, with the tailings reprocessing plant due to be installed in the area of the former processing plant of the mine. The decommissioning on site has already eliminated 19 of 30 planned structures.

Last year Vale more than doubled its circular production to 26.3-million tons, which marked a 107% increase compared to 2024. About 80% of this volume was produced in the state of Minas Gerais.

The circular mining programme has resulted in safety gains, reduction of environmental impacts and value generation for the company.

Commenting on the tailings reprocessing, Vale south-eastern corridor suspended mines director Juliana Cota says the plant is designed to operate sustainably and in integration with the decommissioning works of the Sul Superior dam.

“We opted for a magnetic concentration solution that maximizes the recovery of iron-ore contained in the tailings. The reprocessing of these materials will occur over the next few years, following the decommissioning schedule of the geotechnical structure,” she explains.

“In addition to adopting a simpler and more compact processing technology with a smaller footprint, we are developing modular engineering to have a faster, more economical construction with lower carbon gas emissions,” adds Vale engineer Luis Gustavo Silva.

The construction of the plant is expected to take 19 months, with operations scheduled to start next year.

Vale’s groupwide circular mining programme aims to transform tailings and waste rock into new products to reduce waste generation and optimise the use of mineral reserves, while contributing to the sustainability of operations.

The company explains Minas Gerais is already a benchmark in Vale's circular mining. In addition to producing iron-ore from circular sources, such as the Capanema and Vargem Grande mines, the company also produces co-products from tailings such as “sustainable sand”.

By 2030, the company projects that about 10% of its yearly iron-ore production will come from circular sources, reinforcing its commitment to an increasingly responsible industry.