São Paulo – Mining company Vale officially inaugurated its pelleting plant and distribution centre in Sohar Port, Oman, last weekend. The unit had been in operation since April 2011, but not at full capacity. The company has two pelleting units at the site, but just one had been inaugurated. Each one is capable of processing 4.5 million tonnes of iron ore a year. The distribution centre has a capacity of 40 million tonnes a year.
According to Vale, the complex allows storage of great volumes of bulk ore which may easily be delivered fast. According to the company, the structure should supply the demand in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. In a press statement, the CEO at the mining company, Murilo Ferreira, stated that the organisation has “a solid engagement” with Oman. “We will join efforts with the government, private sector and with each community in which we work to establish a catalyst to stimulate sustainable development,” said Ferreira.
Apart from the project, which consumed approximately US$ 1.6 billion, Oman Shipping Company should build four vessels for the mining company. Two will be delivered in the first half and two in the second half of the year. Another company, Sohar Industrial Port Company, should build a 1.4 km long deep water terminal, making Sohar Port one of the first capable of receiving Vale vessels with capacity of transport of up to 400,000 tonnes of ore.
Vale operates the pelleting plants in partnership with the local Oman Oil Company, which has a 30% share in the business. This unit generates 450 direct jobs, 750 outsourced jobs and 3,120 indirect jobs. Of the total invested, US$ 40 million were spent in development of a system that reuses 100% of the water consumed and controls particle emissions into the atmosphere.
In March 2011, the mining company temporarily interrupted tests at the unit during the protests of the Arab Spring. The company said, at the occasion, that it decided to suspend activities as a “precaution” and recommended that employees stay home.
*Translated by Mark Ament
