It has been announced that Vale, the Brazilian mining company, plans to produce 289,000 mt of nickel and 405,000 mt of copper this year, a substantial increase from the 192,000 mt of nickel and 275,000 mt of copper produced from January to September of last year.
The company’s base metals operations for 2014 has been approved for an investment budget of $2.052 billion, which is up 13.9 percent from 2013. The money will be allotted as follows: $790 million for project execution, $1.023 billion for sustaining existing operations and $239 million for research and development.
An additional $332 million will also be used to complete the $1.7 billion Salobo II expansion at the copper-gold mining operation in Brazil’s Para state.
An additional $332 million will also be used to complete the $1.7 billion Salobo II expansion at the copper-gold mining operation in Brazil’s Para state.
The expansion includes raising the height of the tailings dam and increasing overall mine capacity. It is expected that the expansion, to begin in the first half of 2014, will provide the state with an estimated nominal capacity of 100,000 mt per year of copper concentrate, up from the previous 44,000 mt.