Vale resumes operations at Viga in Minas Gerais

Vale (NYSE: VALE) has resumed full operations at its Viga plant on Thursday evening, after a judge lifted an order that had suspended operations there, the mining firm said in a securities filing.

Operations at the iron ore concentration plant had been suspended for six days, the company said, as it rectified alleged issues pertaining to its operating permit.

According to the miner the halt resulted in 11,000 tonnes per day fewer of iron ore fine production.

Iron ore price jumped 5% on Wednesday after Vale suspension and on signs the Chinese economy continues to pick up pace.

This is the second time Vale has suspended operations at the waste disposal plant, with impact to production, since acquiring it in August last year.

Vale bought miner Ferrous Resources Limited for $550 million in 2019, including units for mining tailings disposal, after shutting down some of its dams in Minas Gerais state for security risk.

Two weeks after the acquisition in 2019, Vale said it had identified an inconsistency in the documents related to the operation permit from the municipality of Jeceaba. Operations were suspended for about three months, with a similar impact to production – approximately 330,000 tonnes per month – the company said then.

(With files from Reuters)