In May, Vale started up its first nickel operation in Brazil. Located in the state of Pará, Onça Puma is one of the largest ferronickel production plants in the world. The project, which covers the municipalities of Ourilândia do Norte, Tucumã and Parauapebas, has an annual production capacity of 220,000 metric tonnes of ferronickel, containing 53,000 metric tonnes of nickel.
As the Brazilian plant – which represents an investment of approximately US$2.84 billion – begins production, it will strengthen Vale’s position as the country’s biggest net exporter. The company is currently the world’s second largest nickel producer, with production operations in Canada, Indonesia and New Caledonia, as well as nickel refineries in the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan and China.
Onça Puma provides an example of the building of sustainable relations with communities in the municipalities affected by the project. During the project’s implementation phase, 8,000 jobs were created, and an additional 1,500 have been generated for the operational phase.
The project has an on-site electricity substation to power the operational unit. Surplus power will be used by the Pará state electricity company to improve and extend energy provision in the neighboring municipalities of Ourilândia do Norte, Tucumã, Xinguara and São Félix do Xingu.
Investment in logistics
Developing operations at Onça Puma, one of the biggest ferronickel mine and plant complexes in the world, has required considerable investment in logistics. Consequently, the Port of Itaqui in Maranhão will once more be a major Brazilian container port.
Nickel from Onça Puma will be transported by train from Parauapebas, Pará to the Port of Itaqui, where it will be loaded onto container ships. This operation represents a new logistical option for southeast Pará, encouraging local economic development.
Find out more about the Onça Puma project and our nickel operations