Brazil’s Mining Sector Accelerates Circular Shift With Pará Demos and Water‑Free Ore Processing

Overview

• Hydro and New Wave are installing a semi‑industrial plant at Alunorte to process about 50,000 tonnes a year of bauxite residue using electric microwave treatment followed by an induction furnace, aiming to produce lower‑emission metallic iron.
• The Senai Institute of Innovation in Mineral Technologies in Pará is advancing projects that turn basalt dust into a carbon‑sequestering fertilizer, blend bauxite residue with palm biomass for soil use, and develop iron‑reducing bacteria for mine rehabilitation.
• Kaolin miner Artemyn’s WH2 project reprocesses tailings from retention basins into products such as paper and ceramics, extending basin lifespan and aligning plans with the state environment secretariat and local communities.
• Vale reports 12.7 million tonnes produced via circularity in 2024, targets 20 million in 2025 and 10% of output by 2030, and projects eliminating water use in iron ore processing across its Sistema Norte by 2027 with natural‑moisture routes.
• Other producers scale reuse: Ferro+ and J. Mendes deploy dry stacking with Isobloco making modular blocks from tailings, Anglo American turns flotation rejects into paving blocks, and CBA says 48% of its residues are coproducts with a 30.7% revenue rise from their sales last year.