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
$14.4-billion.

Duration
S11D is expected to start up in the second half of 2016 and 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
Vale expects its flagship S11D iron-ore project to be completed on time and as much as $2.6-billion below budget.

The cost reduction primarily reflects the dramatic devaluation of the real, which has lost about 35% to the dollar over the past year.

Vale has said the cost of the project has fallen to $14.4-billion. The previous forecast, given in December, was between $16-billion and $17-billion.

The savings come partly because 90% of future costs for the project are denominated in reais.

The project is on track for completion by the end of next year and could bring Vale's overall iron-ore production costs down to $10/t, depending on currency fluctuations, Peter Poppinga, the company's head of iron-ore, has said recently.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Yes.

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