In the year Vale celebrates 40 years of operations in the Amazon region, the company announces today (2/14) the Novo Carajás Program, in the state of Pará, focused on resuming and maintaining iron ore volumes and expanding copper production. The launch will take place at a ceremony with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during a visit to Vale's operations in the municipality of Parauapebas (PA). The program foresees investments of R$70 billion over five years (2025-2030), in line with the company's guidance, in the Carajás region, a province rich in minerals essential for decarbonization and the global energy transition.

The program brings together Carajás' mining expansion potential, including mines in operation, expansions and new targets, to boost the processing of critical minerals to produce green steel (high quality iron ore) and metal for energy transition (copper), which are fundamental for reducing carbon emissions. Iron ore production in Carajás is expected to reach a rate of 200 million tons per year (Mtpa) by 2030, from the additional 20Mt with the expansion of the Serra Sul mine (S11D) and the replacement of production of depleting mines. Copper is expected to grow 32%, bringing production in the region to around 350,000 tons (Kt).

“Carajás is a successful case of a public-private partnership aimed at protecting the forest where we produce, with dry mining processes and innovative technologies, around 60% of the ore that Brazil exports,” says Vale's CEO, Gustavo Pimenta. “The Novo Carajás Program brings gains for Brazil, with the potential to position the country as a global leader in the supply of critical minerals and to strengthen its role in fighting climate change, and for Vale, by expanding a business front that generates value and leverages strategic market opportunities for the company in an economy based on the low-carbon industry.”

Fulfilling Vale's vocation as an anchor of regional development, Novo Carajás will boost Pará's growth with a new cycle of investment in sustainable mining of high-quality iron ore and critical minerals in the state, as well as technology, sustainability, health and safety, and maintenance of equipment and operations. The program will make a significant contribution to Pará state's GDP, in the range of R$80-R$100 billion per year. The program's future production will allow for an increase of R$15 billion in the state's exports from current levels.

In recent years, Vale has intensified its focus on actions related to the energy transition and decarbonization: from the production of high quality iron ore, which increases the efficiency of blast furnaces and reduces emissions from steel mills, through the supply of nickel and copper, essential for the production of electric cars, to the development of innovative products such as briquettes, which reduce emissions in the steel industry by up to 10%.

The company has also invested in circular mining, such as the Gelado project in Carajás. By 2030, Vale expects 10% of its total iron ore production to come from circular mining products. Gelado, with a production of 6 Mtpa resulting from the reuse of tailings, will play a key role in this goal, towards tailings-free mining and products with a low carbon footprint.

40 years of Vale in Pará

Present in Pará for the last four decades, Vale's operations have been an important part of the state's mining economy. In these 40 years, the mining sector has consolidated the region as a key national reference for the country's development, boosting revenue, generating jobs and moving the entire production chain for the supply of goods, inputs and equipment and the provision of services.

In partnership with the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), Vale helps to protect around 800,000 hectares of forests in the Carajás mosaic, an area equivalent to 5 times the size of the city of São Paulo. In addition, with voluntary investments of more than R$200 million, the company is developing various initiatives, such as the Genomics of Brazilian Biodiversity program, a partnership between ITV-Vale Technological Institute and ICMbio, focused on the genomic sequencing of species of Amazonian fauna and flora. Vale also promotes the Amazon's bioeconomy, supporting extractive production chains, helping to generate income for families living in the region, as well as sponsoring initiatives to qualify and structure the environmental agency.

• Photos will be made available after the event.