Vale expects Samarco JV to return in December, Timbopeba to reopen on Monday

Brazil-based miner Vale has confirmed the official schedule for a resumption of production at its Samarco iron ore pellet joint venture in December 2020, while its wholly owned Timbopeba mine was expected to reopen on May 4, chief financial officer Luciano Siani said in a conference call on Wednesday April 29.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, work at the Samarco site was not significantly affected, he said. Samarco was set to begin hot commissioning in July-August and to formally produce again in December.
"Samarco is an emptier site [in comparison with other mines], and the workforce is currently one-third of what it was before the Mariana [city] tragedy," Siani said. "So it is easier to promote social distancing there, and work has continued."

The 50:50 joint venture between Vale and BHP in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais was closed in November 2015, after...

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