Vale and Usiminas in rail and port logistics partnership
Vale and steelmaker Usiminas have signed a series of contracts to transport 10.1 mtpa of raw materials and finished products using Vale's logistics infrastructure.
The R$900M contracts, signed at Usiminas' headquarters in Belo Horizonte, provide for the use of a port terminal, Centro-Atlântica Railway (FCA) and Vitória-Minas Railway (EFVM) for the next three years.
Vale's Praia Mole Port Terminal, at Tubarão Complex, Espírito Santo state, will receive all the coal Usiminas imports, storing and transporting the product to the steelmaker's mill in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais state, along the EFVM. Around 3 mtpa of coal will be transported along the route.
Of the 10.1 mtpa provided for in the contract, 6.8 mt will be transported by rail - 2 mtpa via FCA and 4.8 mtpa via EFVM. The remainder, 3.3 mt, will be handled at Praia Mole Port.
The partnership between the two companies will also enable an increase of 360,000 tpa in the amount of limestone transported by Centro-Atlântica Railway for Usiminas. The product is picked up in the Arcos region of Minas Gerais, and is transported by FCA and EFVM to Usiminas' mill in Ipatinga, also in Minas Gerais.
Other essential inputs for Usiminas' steelmaking will be transported by Vale's railways. The contracts provide for hauling iron ore from Usiminas' mines in Itatiaiuçu, Minas Gerais, as well as pig iron produced in central Minas Gerais, via EFVM.
The two railways will be responsible for transporting finished steel products such as coils and plates, from the mill in Ipatinga to the coast of Espírito Santo state, distribution centers and direct clients in Belo Horizonte and São Paulo. The total volume will be around 3 mtpa.
