Samarco expects iron ore pellet production to rise up to 11% in 2023

Brazilian miner Samarco Mineracao expects production of iron ore pellets to hit 8 million to 9 million tonnes in 2023, a company executive said on Monday, an increase of up to 11% over this year.

Production in 2022 is set to reach 8.1 million tonnes, up 5.2% from 2021.

Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP, has a total production capacity of about 30 million tonnes per year, meaning it is currently operating at 26%. The expectation is for it to reach 60% capacity in 2025 and 100% in 2028.

The forecasts come after the mining company resumed operations in December 2020, after a five-year shutdown following the collapse of one of its tailings dams in November 2015.

“Re-entry into the market has not been difficult. We have strategic partners and have been doing well to strengthen commercial partnerships. Samarco has always been very close to its customers,” said the firm’s chief operating officer, Sergio Mileipe.

Samarco expects to invest 1.6 billion reais ($301 million) in 2023, with a little less than half of that being directed to the decommissioning of tailings dams.

This year through November, the miner has invested more than 1.1 billion reais to sustain operations and decommission its tailings dams, it said in a statement.

($1 = 5.3099 reais)

(By Marta Nogueira; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)