The Andrade deposit is located in the north-eastern portion of the Iron Quadrangle. The base stratigraphic section consists of quartzites and sericite-quartzites of the Moeda formation, followed by schists of the Batatal formation, both forming the Caraça group. The iron rich mineral bodies are part of the overlying Cauê formation, which represents the base of the Itabira Group. The Caraça and Itabira groups compose the base of the Paleoproterozoic Minas Supergroup. The Cauê formation rocks are covered by dolomites and marbles, and sometimes weathered phylites and schists, belonging to the Gandarela formation. The deposit is located in the Iron Ore Quadrangle and it is classified by Banded Iron Formation. The Andrade mine is on the northeast flank of the Pico do Andrade 8 kilometers northwest of Monlevade. This mine is linked to the Usina Monlevade by a 10-kilometer meter-gage electrified railroad. The Andrade deposit is on the Fazenda de Andrade, which along with several smaller fazendas was acquired by CSBM in 1921. The ore occurs in the troughs of the syncline and for more than 1,000 meters along the east flank. The ore body as it crops out or is exposed in the opencut mining operations is arcuate, concave to the northeast. The distribution of the various types of ore and itabirite is highly irregular, and it was not feasible to map them separately. Not uncommonly, alternations of equigranular and schistose material occur in bands, lenses, and irregular forms from a few tenths of a meter to several meters is size. The median length of the ore body is approximately 2,100 meters, extending from the Pico do Andrade slightly north of east for about 1,500 meters and from the peak to the north about 600 meters. The average stratigraphic thickness is about 100 meters. Both the Andrade and Serra Azul mines are located in the Iron Quadrangle (Quadrilátero Ferrífero), a widely-explored and mined region. The mineralization occurs as Itabirites, banded hematite-silica rocks, with varying weathering degrees. While the Serra Azul ore reserve estimates are constituted of rich friable Itabirites requiring some beneficiation, the Andrade ore reserve estimates are dominated by directly shippable hematite ore.

The Andrade Mine is a production stage open pit iron ore mine.

In addition to the open pit mine, the Andrade mine operates a crushing and screening facility, as well as a concentration plant used to improve the quality of the sinter feed to the Monlevade plant. This concentration plant commenced production in early 2020 and concentrates the itabirite ores, enabling mixing with the higher-grade hematite ores. The concentrated iron ore product is transported to the Monlevade steel plant through a private railway line.