Brazilian iron ore producer Vale has extended its agreement with shipping company Hidrovias do Brasil to transport 3.25mn mt of the miner’s iron ore in 2021, using the Paraguay-Paraná waterway.
Under the agreement signed between the two companies, Hidrovias will use eight vessels to transport the material next year, the transportation company said in a statement on Friday. The 25-year deal was initially developed in July 2012, under which Hidrovias currently uses two vessels to transport Vale’s products.
Vale anticipates achieving an annual iron ore capacity of 400mn mt by intensifying production from all of its operations. The mining company’s current production capacity is 318mn mt a year.
Brazil’s crude steel production increased by 6.5pc to 2.70mn mt in August from 2.53mn mt, produced in the same month last year, according to the latest World Steel Association data.