Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/103664
RT SPECIAL REPORT Processing -- crushing, screening, and material transportation -- in this iron ore mine in Brazil is similar to processing in aggregate operations throughout the United States. short tons of iron ore. The reserves were originally expected to be depleted by 2014, but according to site staff, they now believe operations will continue until at least 2017. The operation Overburden is removed at the site before drilling and blasting begin. Vale pays particular attention to blast vibration with several employees who live around the site monitoring vibration and its impact on their homes. A fleet of 16 Liebherr R964 C excavators, with 4-cubic-meter buckets load shot rock onto a portion of the company's 105-truck fleet, typically onto 38-metric-ton trucks. Much of the sizematched equipment has been in operation at sites throughout the Paraopeba Complex for nearly a decade. And, while the trucks are undersized compared to many metal mines, they are suited for their work near residential areas, as well as the existing infrastructure at Capão Xavier. Once loaded, material is transported to a Metso crusher. Once sized and sorted, nearly 80 percent of the material is shipped via rail to steel mills for further processing. The company Vale is the largest iron ore producer in the world and the second largest nickel producer. It also ranks among the top 25 companies in the world in terms of sustainable production. At the site, misters are used to reduce dust, while water trucks dampen haul roads. Waste material is also used to maintain the haul roads. Outside its gates, the company provides surveillance of local parks and supports community projects including a local children's theater, a technical education project which helps local citizens create salable craft projects, and art projects. "It's important to support the population," one Capão Xavier employee told me. "They are the most important stakeholders." And hearing that statement, I felt a little closer to home while visiting an iron ore mine in Brazil. AM AGGREGATES MANAGER January 2013 • DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE Liebherr_AGRM0113.indd 14 15B 12/28/12 8:58 PM