Vale shuts down plant due to damage to transmission network

Mining company expects to resume operations this month, but is already assessing the impacts on nickel production
Vale halts operations in Pará due to damage to power grid
Vale's Onça Puma plant, located in the interior of Pará. Photo: Vale/Reproduction/Facebook

A OK announced, on the night of last Sunday (06), a temporary interruption of the operation in Onça Puma Nickel Plant, located in the municipality of Ourilândia do Norte, in the interior of State of Pará. 

According to the communiqué of companhia, the stoppage happens because of damage to the power transmission network from the local electric company due to a “strong gale” occurred on October 5th.  

A mining company's expectation is that the transmission network of electrical energy be reestablished by October 15th. 

As a consequence, the company foresees a estimated impact of between 1,5 thousand and 2 thousand tons on nickel production during the last quarter of 2024.

Vale reported that it will continue to assess the impacts of the shutdown and that it will take the necessary measures to resume the affected operational processes.

"There were no incidents recorded regarding the safety of employees, neighboring communities or Vale assets on site,” the company highlighted.

A Unexpected outage comes at a time of high global demand for metals, especially nickel, which is widely used in the production of batteries and other high-tech components.

Vale Power Plant

Opened in 2011, the Onça Puma nickel plant has an annual production capacity of 220 tons of ferronickel, which contains 53 tons of nickel. In total, US$2,84 billion was invested in the construction of the plant. 

In 2022, company executives announced approval for the construction of a second furnace in Onça-Puma, which is expected to require an investment of around US$555 million.

The company expects to add 12 to 15 tons of nickel production capacity per year and the project is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2025. 

all the content of Canal Solar is protected by copyright law, and partial or total reproduction of this site in any medium is expressly prohibited. If you are interested in collaborating or reusing part of our material, please us by email: [email protected].

Photo by Henrique Hein
Henrique Hein
He worked at Correio Popular and Rádio Trianon. He has experience in podcast production, radio programs, interviews and reporting. Has been following the solar sector since 2020.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

Comments should be respectful and contribute to a healthy debate. Offensive comments may be removed. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. Canal Solar.

Receive the latest news

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

<
<
Canal Solar
Privacy

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.