Name and Location
Carajás S11D (S11D) iron-ore project, Pará, Brazil.

Client
Vale.

Project Description
S11D is named after its location – orebody S11, Block D. The mining potential of orebody S11 is ten-billion tons of iron-ore and that of Block D 2.78-billion tons of iron-ore.

The project is the largest project in the history of Vale and the iron-ore industry.

The project has a nominal capacity of 90-million tonnes a year of iron-ore, with proven and probable reserves of 4.24-billion tonnes, an average ferrous content of 66.7%, low impurities and an estimated cash cost (mine, plant, railway and port after royalties) of $15.00/t.

CLN S11D will increase Vale’s logistics capacity to 230-million tonnes a year and involves the construction of a rail spur, new railway sections with dual tracks, rail terminals and onshore and offshore investments.

In line with Vale’s long-term objective of sustainable value creation, it has developed technological solutions focused on environmental protection, with more efficient use of natural resources and the reduction of pollutants emission.

The truckless mining concept will result in replacing the off-road trucks with excavators and mobile crushers, which will extract the iron-ore and feed the conveyor belts that will transport it to the beneficiation plant.

Implementing the processing of iron-ore using its natural moisture (dry process) will further mitigate the environmental impacts. This technique eliminates the generation of tailings using the maximum amount of ore, since the finest feeds, which would be lost in the conventional process, are within the final product.

Once the S11D mine and plant are operating, water consumption will decrease by 93% and fuel consumption by 77%, allowing for a 50% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions, compared with conventional methods. The dry process will also reduce electricity consumption and eliminate the need for a tailings dam, minimising the interference in native environments.

Value
The total capital expenditure (capex) for S11D is $19.671-billion, encompassing the development of the mine and processing plant ($8.089-billion) and logistics ($11.582-billion).

Vale has spent $2.736-billion. Capex will be executed until the end of the ramp-up in 2018, although expenditure is expected to be more concentrated between 2014 and 2016.

The capex for CLN S11D comprises investments in logistics of $10.363-billion and $1.036-billion in rolling stock, as well as the $183- million transferred from CLN 150 to CLN S11D.

Duration
S11D is expected to start up in the second half of 2016 and to deliver full capacity production in 2018.

The start ups for CLN S11D will occur from the first half of 2015 to the second half of 2018.

Latest Developments
Power and automation giant ABB has secured a $103-million contract to fit the S11D iron-ore mine with electrical and automation systems.

This follows the 2012 installation and commissioning of the primary transmission substation, which Vale now wants to extend to the excavators, stackers, reclaimers and conveyor belt system of the mine.

ABB will supply a 230 kV in-feed substation to connect the mine to the electricity grid and 42 secondary stations, which will be contained in ABB’s prefabricated, walk-in, modular, outdoor enclosures.

Further, ABB will supply the motors for the mine’s conveyor belts.

“Truckless transportation will use conveyor belts to move rock and ore around the site, with lower carbon emissions, reduced operating costs and greater safety than the truck-based system it is replacing,” says ABB process automation division head Veli-Matti Reinikkala.

He explains that conventional transport will require about 100 off-highway trucks using 77% more diesel a year.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
S11D has faced delays, as Vale investigated risks to local plants and animals and studied potential archaeological sites in and around the proposed mine site.

Contact Details for Project Information
Vale, Roberto Castello Branco, tel +55 21 3814 4540 or email Roberto.castello.branco@vale.com.