Production Process

Allows Samarco to transform a low grade material, with around 40% iron and which was formerly considered overburden, into a high added value product, with a content of around 67% iron and a high reducibility index, which provides greater productivity for the steel industries and direct reduction furnaces.

Safe, low-impact solution

Integrated operation as a competitive advantage. Samarco operates with its own logistics, in an integrated manner, from the beginning to the end of production, that is, from mine to port. This operating model represented a technological advance for the mining sector in Brazil, in the 1970s, and until today it translates into greater competitiveness for the company, due to the independence and cost reduction in relation to transportation, operational and environmental safety, and also due to ensuring greater stability, availability and reliability to production processes.

It all starts at the Germano Complex, in the municipalities of Mariana and Ouro Preto, in Minas Gerais, where iron ore is extracted and processed. In the form of slurry, it is conveyed via pipelines, traveling through 25 municipalities until reaching the Ubu Complex, in Anchieta, Espírito Santo. In this unit, the ore goes through the pelletizing process and, finally, is shipped from the Company´s own port terminal to the end customer.

In addition to the operational units, Samarco owns the Muniz Freire (ES) hydropower plant and has a stake in the Guilman-Amorim plant consortium, in Antônio Dias and Nova Era (MG).

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Germano Complex

This is where Samarco’s production process begins. The unit is located in Mariana and Ouro Preto, municipalities of mining background that are relevant to the history of Minas Gerais and Brazil.

The Germano Complex comprises the Alegria mines, where iron ore is extracted, the beneficiation plant with its three concentrators, the filtration system and the Alegria Sul pit, in addition to the Germano pit and dam. Still in this unit, we have Pump Station 1 and the beginning of the first Brazilian ore pipeline.

In Germano, the low-grade ore that in the past was considered waste, with around 40% iron, is enriched in the beneficiation process, leaving the unit towards the Ubu Complex with a content of around 67%.

Dam de-characterization

In compliance with Resolution No. 13/2019 of the National Mining Agency (ANM), Samarco is enforcing the plan to de-characterize the Germano pit and dam, which have not been in operation since October 2015.

The activities follow established safety standards and are being carried out in stages, which include ensuring the long-term stability of the structures, the reconfiguration and revegetation of the reservoir area and the implementation of a drainage system.

Germano dam and pit are stable and have Dam Integrity Assurance Statements (DCE) – documents that certify that they meet safety requirements, pursuant to Brazilian and international standards. All company structures are monitored 24/7, by the Integrated Security System, which includes the Monitoring and Inspection Center (CMI).

What is the de-characterization of a dam?

It is the process of definitive closure of the structure so that it ceases to be characterized and operate as a containment of sediments or tailings, being reincorporated into the landscape and the environment.

Ore Pipelines

Samarco pipeline was the first in the country and, for more than three decades, was considered the longest in the world for the transport of iron ore. Currently, the company has three pipelines, approximately 400 km long each.

The iron ore slurry travels about three days, at about 6km/h, from the Germano Complex to the Ubu Complex, crossing 25 municipalities from Minas Gerais to Espírito Santo.

The two pump stations, in the Germano unit and in Matipó (MG), have the function of supplying energy and boosting the displacement of the slurry. In turn, two valve stations, in Guaçuí and Alegre (ES), regulate the pressure to ensure safety during the journey.

The water used in the pipeline, upon arriving at Ubu, is treated and recirculated in the production process.

Dam de-characterization

Samarco’s pipelines are predominantly underground. Therefore, their operation does not cause inconvenience to communities along the right-of-way. Periodic inspections and maintenance are carried out to ensure the integrity of the structures.

Furthermore, the pipeline is considered a safe logistics solution with a lower socio-environmental impact. This is because, by not using road and rail transportation, this avoids the overload of these road networks, the consumption of fuels and, also, the emission of gases into the atmosphere.

Ubu Complex

Located in the municipality of Anchieta, on the coast of Espírito Santo, the Ubu Complex includes four pellet plants, four water treatment stations and the Ponta Ubu Maritime Terminal, about 80 km from Vitória. The unit is responsible for the processes that add even more value to the iron ore, changing it into pellets, which are shipped to the end customer.

Plants 3 and 4, built in the Third Pellet Project and in the Fourth Pellet Project (P4P), respectively, are among the largest in the world.

The necessary information for ships, crew and users can be found below:

Main technical specifications of Port
Resolution Port of Ubu
Vessel registration form – AB <50
Notice to ships bound for Ponta Ubu Terminal
Procedure for authorizing port support vessels
Maneuver price and cargo handled
In addition to Resolution No. 06 of the Ponta Ubu Maritime Terminal, there are guidelines from the Port Authority regarding the use of tugboats (Ordinance No. 100/CPES), which can be found in the Minimum table of Tugboats for ordinary maneuvers in P. Ubu.
Minimum number of Tugs for ordinary maneuvers in P. Ubu
Ponta Ubu Port Regulation
Line Up

Samarco sells pellet feed (concentrated iron ore fines) and pellets, which are produced by agglomeration of pellet feed.

Our products are more present in your daily life than you might think. Iron is the raw material used in the steel industry for the manufacture of steel, which in turn had and continues to play a fundamental role in the evolution of human kind and economic and technological development. Everything needs steel and, indirectly, iron: machines, buildings, automobiles, planes and even various products of the modern world, such as TVs, mobile phones and computers. And even when iron ore is not present in the product itself, it is essential for its manufacture and transportation to the consumer, as is the case with clothes, medicines and the food that everyone consumes. Can you imagine what your life would be like without all this?

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