Vale informs that it has received a term of suspension of interdiction from the National Mining Agency (ANM) for the definite operation of the beneficiation and, pelletizing plants and Area 15 mining fronts, at the Fábrica site, Ouro Preto (MG). 

Since April, Fábrica has been operating via wet processing, in a testing regime, in order to evaluate geotechnical impacts of these operations on the structures near the site. The tests, under the supervision and with the consent of regulatory agencies and external auditors, did not detect any increase in risk to the structures. 

The resumption of wet processing at Fábrica allows production to remain close to the 6 Mtpa nominal capacity of the processing plant, as well as ensure an improvement in the average quality of Vale's product portfolio and greater operational flexibility. 

For now, Vale has decided to maintain the pelletizing operation inactive due to operational restrictions, such as access to certain mining fronts and the interdiction of blasting activities, which impact the appropriate quality for the pellet feed production.