Vale is testing the use of unmanned trains at its Mariana iron ore complex to transport ore to the Timbopeba plant in a bid to reverse a recent state-ordered stoppage, it said on late Wednesday June 16.
The Brazilian mining company expects the tests - of an automated train that will cover around 16 km in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state, where Timbopeba is located - to last one or two months. If successful, the plant will then be able to run at 80-100% of its capacity of 33,000 tonnes per day.On the orders of local authorities, the company suspended operations on one stretch of the Vit??ria-Minas railroad that it uses to move...