Brazilian court authorizes Vale to resume ops at Brucutu mine

Reuters | April 16, 2019 | 11:11 am Latin America Iron Ore

Vale targets 400m tonnes iron ore production

Brucutu, with annual capacity of 30m tonnes of iron ore, is the second largest mine in Brazil, behind Vale’s Carajás. (Image by Ricardo Teles | Vale)

A Brazilian state court has authorized iron ore miner Vale SA to resume operations at the Brucutu mine, its largest in Minas Gerais state, according to a court document.

Brucutu was shuttered in early February by request of Minas Gerais state prosecutors after a tailings dam burst in the town of Brumadinho, killing hundreds of people.

Vale had been authorized by the state in early March to resume operations, but an injunction blocked the resumption. Now the state court of Minas Gerais gave the final nod to resume production at Brucutu.

Officials in the city of Sao Gonçalo do Rio Abaixo, where Brucutu is located, said earlier on Tuesday that Vale had been authorized to resume operations.

Vale shares accelerated gains after the news and were up 3.1 percent at 52.91 reais in mid-afternoon trading.

(By Marta Nogueira and Luciano Costa; Editing by G Crosse)