Vale estimates a production loss of 1.5mn mt in iron ore production and third-party purchases due to heavy rains that hit the Minas Gerais region a week ago. Still, the company has maintained its iron ore production guidance of 320-335mn mt for 2022.
The Brazilian miner has partially resumed operations at Minas Gerais. In the Southeastern System, train transit on the Estrada de Ferro Vitória-Minas railway resumed on the Rio Piracicaba-João Monlevade stretch, enabling production at the Brucutu and Mariana complex.
In the Southern System, road accesses were cleared and the MRS Logística train transit is expected to be restored this week which will help production resume at the Abóboras, Vargem Grande, Fábrica and Viga plants. These plants account for half of the current capacity in the Southern System.