Activities and operational units

Located in Carajás, in the state of Pará, this system contains some of the biggest iron ore deposits in the world and an ore processing plant. The Carajás Railroad (known by its Portuguese acronym, EFC) transports the ore to Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal in the state of Maranhão, from where it is exported. We also have a pelletizing plant in São Luís, Maranhão, that processes material from Carajás.

This system covers three areas in the state of Minas Gerais: Itabira, the Central Mines and Mariana. The iron ore produced is transported along the Vitória-Minas Railroad (known by its Portuguese acronym, EFVM) to the Port of Tubarão in the state of Espírito Santo, where it is transferred onto ships. Most of the system’s electricity consumption is supplied by our hydroelectric plants: Igarapava, Porto Estrela, Funil, Candonga, Aimorés, Capim Branco I and Capim Branco II.

The system also has eight pelletizing plants in Espírito Santo: four wholly owned plants; three plants owned by Samarco, a company in which we have a 50% stake; and one plant belonging to Hispanobras, in which we have a 50.9% interest.

Also located in Minas Gerais, this system features three mining complexes: Itabiritos (composed of four mines, two main processing plants and three secondary processing plants); Vargem Grande (three mines and one processing plant); and Paraopeba (four mines and three processing plants). The iron ore produced is transported by MRS, a railroad company in which we have a 41.5% stake, and exported at Ilha Guaíba Maritime Terminal and Sepetiba Bay Port Company (CPBS), both in Rio de Janeiro. Most of the electric power used is supplied by hydroelectric power plants (Igarapava, Porto Estrela, Funil, Candonga, Capim Branco I and Capim Branco II).

The system has two pelletizing plants: Fábrica, supplied by the mine of the same name; and Vargem Grande, fed by ore from Pico Mine.

This pelletizing plant is part of the Yueyufeng Steelmaking Complex in the province of Guangdong. The pellets are produced using pellet feed from our mines in Brazil, which arrives in China at the steelmaking complex’s own port facilities. The operation’s main customer is Yueyufeng Iron & Steel (YYF), which is based inside the complex.

Located in the province of Henan, this pelletizing operation came on stream in March 2011.

Located in the coastal city of Sohar, this facility will meet rising demand for iron ore products in the Middle East, North Africa and India. One of the complex’s two plants is now operating.