Vale open to investing in power generation in Chile
Brazilian miner Vale (NYSE: VALE) is open to investing in power generation in Chile if it is needed to cover demand from potential mining projects in the country, executive director for exploration, energy and projects, Eduardo Ledsham, told BNamericas.
"Our priority in Chile is developing mining projects. If we develop a copper project big enough to need a significant amount of power, we would consider investing in generation, but only to secure supply for our own mining projects," Ledsham said at the inauguration of the company's Tres Valles red metal operation in the country's northern region IV.
The executive said power is a sensitive issue in Chile due to the imbalance between supply and demand. "I think the country is looking for investments to secure future supply."
Vale is Brazil's biggest energy consumer, accounting for 4% of total demand in the country. The company's global strategy includes investing in power generation to meet the demands of its operations, Vale's country manager for Chile Gilberto Schubert told BNamericas.
The miner has stakes in seven existing hydroelectric power plants in Brazil with a total generation capacity of 1,232MW, and in one that is being built and will add 1,087MW to total capacity. It also fully owns four more small plants that provide an additional 58MW.
The company sees no need to invest in power generation in Chile at present, Schubert said, considering Tres Valles is a small operation with a designed output capacity of 18,500t/y and a power demand of 16MW, which is already covered.
Tres Valles is Vale's first copper operation in Chile, the world's largest red metal producer, and the company plans to expand operations in the country. "We have come here to stay," executive director for base metals Tito Martins said. Therefore, the option of securing power supply for its own projects needs to be considered, according to Schubert.
The company aims to have at least three or four copper projects in Chile, plus some others that are being evaluated in Peru and Brazil, Martins said.
Vale is carrying out an intensive exploration program in Chile. "We are already investing close to US$30mn in exploration campaigns in our concessions in the country," Ledsham said.
Tres Valles is not meant to increase the company's profits, according to Ledsham, but rather to generate working capital to be spent on other mining opportunities in the country.
Vale to Invest $4.6 Billion in Malaysia Distribution
Vale SA, the world’s largest iron- ore producer, will invest about 14 billion ringgit ($4.6 billion) in a distribution center in Malaysia, a government official said.
"They have already completed the land acquisition and are expected to start construction work around July," said Zambry Abdul Kadir, chief minister of Perak state, where the center will be located. "The entire project will be done in phases," with the investment spanning up to 10 years, he said today by telephone.
Vale said in an October presentation that it would spend $148 million in 2011 as part of the first phase of the project. The distribution center will be able to receive cargo ships carrying 400,000 deadweight tons and have the initial capacity to stockpile as much as 30 million metric tons, Vale said.
A Vale official in Rio de Janeiro, who declined to be named because of corporate policy, said the company still doesn’t have an investment figure for the entire project as it has yet to be approved by Vale’s board.
