Vale sees 10% of its iron ore production coming from tailings by 2030

In 2024, the mining giant expects to recover about 7 million metric tons of iron ore through its “circular mining” program, Vale’s executive vice president of technical affairs, Rafael Bittar, said in an interview on Wednesday.

He did not provide specific projections for how much iron ore will be produced from tailings and waste by 2030, but the expected increase in Vale’s overall production implies the volume will likely jump in coming years.

The firm, one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, on Wednesday revised its 2024 outlook upwards and now expects to produce up to 330 million tons this year. From 2030 onwards, it sees annual output of more than 360 million tons.

“This program aims to reuse waste that is already in our dams,” Bittar said on the sidelines of a mining conference. “This is a reality and it will come very strongly (for the industry), so we anticipated it and designed this program.”

Vale’s initiative to reduce its tailing volumes gained ground after the fatal collapse of two dams in Mariana and Brumadinho in 2015 and 2019, respectively, which jointly killed hundreds and caused severe environmental damages.

Part of Vale’s tailings are stored in dams. Since the disasters, the firm has been working to eliminate all its upstream dams, which are seen as riskier.

Last year alone, Vale generated 48.5 million tons of iron ore tailings.