03 November 2015
Vale Oman Pelletising Company, the Brazilian-Omani joint venture that operates a massive iron ore pelletising plant at Sohar Port, posted a production record for the first nine months of this year, the parent company Vale SA announced recently.
Output for the nine months ended on September 30, 2015 increased 7.2 per cent to 6.661 million tonnes from 6.217 million tonnes achieved during the corresponding period of 2014, Vale SA -- the Rio de Janeiro headquartered global mining conglomerate -- said in a newly released report of its Q3 financial results.
Production during the third quarter however dipped 3 per cent to 2.347 million tonnes, compared to the previous quarter's figure of 2.419 million tonnes -- a decline attributed to a scheduled maintenance shutdown at the Sohar plant.
The "good performance" of the Sohar facility, along with that of a handful of Vale-operated pellet plants in Brazil, helped boost Vale's global pellet production to a historical high of 35.8 million tonnes for the first nine months of this year, the mining giant said.
Commencing operations in 2011, Vale Oman's estimated $2 billion investment in the Sultanate includes a world-scale iron ore pelletising plant featuring two trains each with a capacity to produce 4.5 million tonnes per annum of direct reduction pellets.
Another key component of the company's Sohar Industrial Complex is major distribution centre with a capacity to handle around 40 million tonnes of raw iron ore to supply steel plants across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, including India.
Sourced from Vale's mines in Brazil, the ore is shipped to Sohar via Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs) of a capacity of around 400,000 metric tonnes. A 1.4km-long deepwater terminal enables the safe berthing of these Valemax vessels when they discharge their cargoes at Sohar Port. A fleet of smaller bulk carriers has been deployed to transport iron ore pellets to steel mills in the region.
Vale Oman is 70 per cent owned by Vale SA, with Oman Oil Company -- the investment arm of the Omani government -- holding the balance 30 per cent.
Vale Oman Pelletising Company, the Brazilian-Omani joint venture that operates a massive iron ore pelletising plant at Sohar Port, posted a production record for the first nine months of this year, the parent company Vale SA announced recently.
Output for the nine months ended on September 30, 2015 increased 7.2 per cent to 6.661 million tonnes from 6.217 million tonnes achieved during the corresponding period of 2014, Vale SA -- the Rio de Janeiro headquartered global mining conglomerate -- said in a newly released report of its Q3 financial results.
Production during the third quarter however dipped 3 per cent to 2.347 million tonnes, compared to the previous quarter's figure of 2.419 million tonnes -- a decline attributed to a scheduled maintenance shutdown at the Sohar plant.
The "good performance" of the Sohar facility, along with that of a handful of Vale-operated pellet plants in Brazil, helped boost Vale's global pellet production to a historical high of 35.8 million tonnes for the first nine months of this year, the mining giant said.
Commencing operations in 2011, Vale Oman's estimated $2 billion investment in the Sultanate includes a world-scale iron ore pelletising plant featuring two trains each with a capacity to produce 4.5 million tonnes per annum of direct reduction pellets.
Another key component of the company's Sohar Industrial Complex is major distribution centre with a capacity to handle around 40 million tonnes of raw iron ore to supply steel plants across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, including India.
Sourced from Vale's mines in Brazil, the ore is shipped to Sohar via Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs) of a capacity of around 400,000 metric tonnes. A 1.4km-long deepwater terminal enables the safe berthing of these Valemax vessels when they discharge their cargoes at Sohar Port. A fleet of smaller bulk carriers has been deployed to transport iron ore pellets to steel mills in the region.
Vale Oman is 70 per cent owned by Vale SA, with Oman Oil Company -- the investment arm of the Omani government -- holding the balance 30 per cent.
© Oman Daily Observer 2015
