Seatrade Maritime is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Brazilian court halts Vale's Brucutu mine, BDI falls below 1,000 points

997dcccaa17ea284e17a7d576ec8c236
Brazilian courts have again halted operations at Vale’s Brucutu mine, and the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) has dropped back below the 1,000 points level.

Vale said on Monday that the Minas Gerais Court of Justice (Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de Minas Gerais had reversed a ruling by a lower court which allowed the mine to reopen last month.

“Vale reiterates that the Laranjeiras dam and all the other geotechnical structures of Brucutu have valid Declaration of Stability (DCE) issued by external auditors in March 2019, and is taking the appropriate measures related to the decision,” the Brazilian mining giant said.

The courts ordered the closure of the Brucutu in early February following the fatal dam collapse in Brumadinho.

The closure of Brucutu ha heavy impact on the dry bulk shipping market with Vale saying it would lose 30m tonnes in iron ore production on top of 40m tonnes lost from the decision to decommission 10 dams.

The BDI lost 4.55% on Monday to close as 985 points having moved back above the 1,000 points range last week.

Vale reiterated its 2019 iron ore and pellets sales guidance of 307-332m tonnes with the miner saying it was likely to be the lower – middle of the range.