Vale, Other Brazil Miners Ramp Up Production as Rains Subside
Brazilian miners including Vale SA are resuming production in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais after being forced to halt some operations due to heavy rains that increased the risk of accidents and caused logistics disruptions.Vale said in a securities filing on Monday that the Brucutu and Mariana mines are gradually ramping up production as part of its Vitoria-Minas railway was cleared, allowing the iron ore to be moved.According to Vale, the stoppages affected production of about 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore.
Dry Bulk: Heavy Rains Disrupt Shipping in Southeast Brazil
Heavy rainfall in southeastern Brazil has prompted miners including Vale SA to suspend some operations, they said on Monday, after downpours caused deadly floods in the northeast and threatened to delay harvests in the midwest.Rainfall is expected to remain heavy this week in most of top mining state Minas Gerais, after runoff closed roads and railways.The rains may also have contributed to the dramatic collapse of a canyon rock face in the state on Saturday, killing 10 people visiting a waterfall on boats.In the northeastern state of Bahia…
Usiminas to Cancel Iron Ore Shipment Contract
Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas intends to cancel its iron ore shipment contract with the Sudeste Port, a private terminal near Rio de Janeiro, the port said on Friday. The statement did not say how much Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA, as the company is formally known, had agreed to export through the terminal nor did it give a reason for the desire to cancel the contract. Usiminas declined to comment on the news. (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Diane Craft)
Brazil Iron Ore Terminal will Start This Year
Trading firm Trafigura and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala said on Thursday their Brazilian port for exporting iron ore will start this year, in response to a steelmaker with a contract to use the port that said the opening could be pushed back to 2015. Porto Sudeste "is on track to start operation in the beginning of the last quarter of 2014," Eugenio Mamede, chief operating officer for the port, said in a written response to Reuters. Trafigura owns a controlling stake in the port with Abu Dhabi government investment fund Mubadala Development Co. The export terminal located in Rio de Janeiro state will be able to handle 50 million tonnes of iron ore per year, and could expand to 100 million tonnes.
SSI Rep Sponsors Brazilian Offshore Seminar
SSI and its representatives continue to engage with leaders of the shipbuilding and offshore industry to help increase productivity and solve business challenges. On April 23, Sincronia, SSI's representative for ShipConstructor software in Brazil, is sponsoring the first seminar focused on the shipbuilding and offshore construction cluster in the state of Pernambuco. Estaleiro Atlântico Sul (EAS) and the American Bureau of Shipping are cosponsors of this event which has been organized by SOBENA (Society of Brazilian Naval Engineers), in partnership with Petrobras, Transpetro, EAS, FIEPE and the Federal University of Pernambuco. The seminar…
Piacaguera Channel Draft Reduced
GAC informed that the maximum draft has been reduced in the Piacaguera Channel at Santos Port where Usiminas and Vale Fertil are located. According to the new requirement, during zero tide, the maximum draft should be considered to be 8.7 meters. For a high tide of 1.1 meters or more over zero, the maximum draft should be considered to be 9.8 meters.
