Vale reopens key mine, plans to spend $12B in Brazil's Minas Gerais

[Iron Ore reclaimer machine and stockpile ]
Dazman/E+ via Getty Images

Vale (NYSE:VALE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VALE]) reopened [https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/brazils-vale-reopens-key-mine-plans-invest-12-billion-minas-gerais-2025-09-04/] its Capanema iron ore mine, which had been inactive for 22 years, and said it plans to spend 67B reais (~$12.3B) in its mining operations in Brazil's Minas Gerais state by 2030, Reuters reported Thursday.

Vale (NYSE:VALE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VALE]) said most of the spending will be focused on expanding filtering and dry stacking of iron ore tailings, as it seeks to reduce the use of tailings dams in its local operations to 20% from 30%, a company goal since the collapse of two dams in Minas Gerais in 2015 and 2019, which killed hundreds of people and caused severe environmental damage.

The miner said the Capanema mine will now operate without using water in processing, generating no tailings and removing the need for dams.

"Capanema exemplifies the new phase of mining in Minas Gerais and reinforces our commitment to a more responsible production process," Vale (VALE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VALE]) CEO Gustavo Pimenta told Reuters.

The mine will add ~15M metric tons/year to Vale's (VALE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/VALE]) iron ore output and help the company achieve its goal of producing 340M-360M tons next year, the company said.

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