Vale SA is betting on the world’s biggest iron-ore project as a way to become more competitive with its largest rivals. For Brazil, the US$14 billion S11D mine is a rare bright spot amid the country’s longest recession on record.
“This is a confident affirmation that yes, Brazil will return to growth,” Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy Fernando Coelho Filho said on Saturday at a ceremony opening the complex in Para State in northern Brazil.
Superlatives define Vale’s effort. S11D is one of the largest private investments undertaken in Brazil, which is mired in a slump that has sent unemployment soaring, shrunk exports and cut factory output. That made the ribbon-cutting event a potent symbol, with Brazilian President Michel Temer scheduled to be the featured speaker until bad weather kept him from reaching the site in the Amazon rain forest.
Temer, who succeeded the impeached Dilma Rousseff, is leading Brazil’s sputtering turnaround effort. This week he outlined a number of measures aimed at boosting productivity and investment, including reductions in red tape, simplifying taxation and streamlining import and export procedures.
For Vale, the world’s top iron-ore producer, developing the mine in Brazil’s underdeveloped north is central to its long-term strategy. The company began working on the project more than a decade ago. At full capacity, the mine will be able to produce 90 million tonnes a year at a cost of about US$7 a tonne, or 41 percent less than Vale’s average expense now. The mine has a life expectancy of 30 years.
Stepping up production at the mine will help Vale reduce dependence on its higher-cost operations in southern Brazil. When at full capacity, S11D will account for about one quarter of Vale’s total output. The first shipments are scheduled for the middle of next month.
Vale’s ore now has to travel several thousand kilometers farther to reach China, the largest consumer of the steel-making ingredient, compared with production from the second and third largest producers, Rio Tinto PLC and BHP Billiton Ltd. Reducing cost is crucial to Vale’s efforts to compensate for its geographical disadvantage.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS