Summary:
The Caue Formation of the Paleoproterozoic Minas Supergroup hosts banded iron formations (BIFs), locally called itabirites, deposited in shallow marine passive margin settings.
The Serra Azul mine is located in the North-Eastern portion of the Iron Quadrangle, in the iron rich Cauê Formation of the Itabira Group. The mineralization occurs as friable, semi compact and compact Itabirites and banded hematite-silica rocks, with varying degrees of weathering and oxidation.
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.
The Serra Azul, westernmost section of the Serra do Curral, is 14 kilometers long. The east end of the section, a little less than 1 kilometer long, is in the southwest corner of the Igarape" quadrangle.
The large part of the range is in the Serra Azul and Itatiaiugu quadrangles. More than 11 kilometers of the crest of the Serra Azul is overlain by three long narrow canga sheets and associated rolado deposits. From east to west the three canga sheets are approximately 4, 5.5, and 2 kilometers long, respectively. A fourth canga sheet, 1.1 kilometers long and 250 meters wide, lies on the north side of the range at its east end and near the head of Corrego da Pedra Grande.
The canga and rolado deposits on the range crest mostly overlie the Caue" Itabtrite, but both the east and middle sheets locally overlie the Cercadinho Formation, which occurs near the range crest on the north side of the range, and the Caraga Group which occurs on the south side of the crest. The middle canga layer extends as much as half a kilometer south of the range crest, covering a dip slope of overturned Caue Itabirite. The canga sheet north of the range caps a pediment overlying the Fecho do Funil Formation, TaboSes Quartzite, and Sabara Formation. The canga deposits cover 2,300,000 square meters and have an average thickness of 2 meters. The rolado deposits have an aerial distribution of 200,000 square meters and an average thickness of 1 meter. The canga is estimated to average 62 percent iron; the rolado, 60 percent iron. Eight canga samples had an average iron content of 63.34 percent
Reserves at December 31, 2024
Iron ore reserve and resources estimates are including Serra Azul and Andrade mines.
Mineral reserves and resources for Serra Azul are estimated at 40% Fe cut-off grade and 29% Fe cut-off grade and a mass recovery varying from 33%.
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade |
|
Proven
|
173 Mt
|
Iron
|
46.4 %
|
|
Probable
|
251 Mt
|
Iron
|
37.2 %
|
|
Proven & Probable
|
424 Mt
|
Iron
|
40.9 %
|
|
Measured
|
89 Mt
|
Iron
|
51 %
|
|
Indicated
|
187 Mt
|
Iron
|
48.1 %
|
|
Measured & Indicated
|
276 Mt
|
Iron
|
49.1 %
|
|
Inferred
|
105 Mt
|
Iron
|
40.4 %
|
Summary:
The Serra Azul mine operates a processing plant consisting of a crushing facility and a three-line concentration facility, including screening, magnetic separation, spirals separators and jigging. Iron ore product is transported by truck to two railway terminals located 35 and 50 kilometers from the mine site for distribution to local purchasers of sinter feed or for export through third-party port facilities located in the Rio de Janeiro State.
Following the integration of the Serra Azul Mine into ArcelorMittal Brasil in 2020, an expansion project for the Serra Azul Mine was approved, extending the mine's life until 2058. The project considers producing 4.5 million tonnes per annum of DRI quality pellet feed by processing compact itabirite ("IC") and semi-compact itabirite ("ISC") material. The IC and ISC processing plant operations are scheduled to start in the second half of 2025.