On January 9, Vallourec, a French steel pipe company, said that the tailings dam of its Pau Branco iron ore project in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais overflowed and cut off the connection between Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. Traffic on the main highway BR-040 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s National Agency for Mines (ANM) ordered the suspension of the project’s operations.
It is reported that the accident occurred on January 8. Heavy rains in Minas Gerais, Brazil in recent days, caused the embankment of Vallourec’s iron ore project to landslide, and a large amount of mud invaded the BR-040 road, which was immediately blocked. .
Vallourec issued a statement: “The company is actively communicating and cooperating with competent agencies and authorities to minimize the impact and return to normal conditions as soon as possible.” In addition, the company said there were no structural problems with the dam.
The annual output of the Vallourec Pau Blanco iron ore project is about 6 million tons. Vallourec Mineraçäo has been developing and producing iron ore at the Paublanco mine since the early 1980s. It is reported that the designed capacity of the hematite concentrator initially constructed in the project is 3.2 million tons/year.
It is reported that the Vallourec Pau Blanco iron ore project is located in the town of Brumadinho, 30 kilometers away from Belo Horizonte, and has a superior mining location.