From Bloomie:
Samarco’s quest to obtain permits for resuming its Brazilian iron-ore operations is progressing despite environmental fines and a court order, with a mid-2017 restart still possible, the state licensing agency said.
The venture owned by BHP Billiton Ltd. and Vale SA, which halted work a year ago after a tailings dam collapse, is seeking a new operating license as well as additional permits to deposit waste into an unused pit called Alegria Sul rather than building a new dam. Minas Gerais state environmental regulator Semad sees merit in the Alegria Sul option, which the company says would allow it to resume at partial capacity for about two years.
“The benefit and the environmental balance is very positive,” Anderson Silva de Aguilar, who is overseeing the licensing requests, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “Environmentally, it is a lot better than depositing in an area that was not prepared or would have to be prepared for this purpose.”
For now, Semad has received all the documentation requested from Samarco and is analyzing the plan to use the vacant pit while it formulates a set of guidelines for the mining complex license.
The regulator’s decision to look at re-licensing the mine’s main complex under a single “corrective” permit rather than requiring dozens of individual licenses, will simplify the process, according to Semad’s press office.
…While the regulatory progress is welcome news for the miner and its shareholders and creditors, the final word on the two licenses won’t be decided by Semad. Two separate hearings will be held before a mix of politicians, engineers, scientists, mining executives and NGOs, who will then vote to either approve or deny Samarco’s licenses.
One of the wonders of the current iron ore bubble is that Samarco’s return is now an absolute no-brainer. It’s 30mt of pellet production would be immensely profitable right now owing to the coking coal spike and demand for lower-sintering production of steel.
Bubbleheads had better pray it stays offline.
