São Paulo – Last week, Vale performed the maiden shipment of ore produced in Oman via its distribution center in the Arab country’s Sohar Port. The Brazilian company confirmed the operation this Monday (10).
The business operation is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in March by the mining company, the port’s management and the Oman National Investments Development Company SAOC (Tanmia) that allows for the use of Vale’s infrastructure to export local output.
“Oman is a mineral-rich country and we are working to contribute our knowledge and industrial expertise so that the Sultanate can bring its industrial minerals to the global market at competitive prices”, said Vale in Oman’s CEO, Jamil Sebe.
The Brazilian company invested nearly USD 2 billion in building an iron ore pellet plant and a distribution center in Sohar, with both being inaugurated in 2011. However, the capacity of the maritime terminal exceeds the plant’s output, and so came the idea to use it also to handle third-party cargos. Currently, only 50% of the terminal’s capacity is being used. Vale doesn’t have mining operations in Oman. In the pellet plant, it uses ore imported from Brazil.
The memorandum resulted in the creation of the Sohar Dry Bulk Logistics Corridor and, according to Vale, is aligned with the Arab country’s strategy to diversify its economy beyond the oil industry.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
