On March 11, Vale received a notice from the Mangaratiba city government in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state, ordering the temporary suspension of port activities at the Guaiba Island Terminal (TIG).The Mangaratiba city government had said there were irregularities in the iron ore port's environmental compliance documentation.
In early February, Vale had said it expected to resume operations after an interdiction order was canceled by Mangaratiba city government after the miner presented the necessary environmental licenses.
The port terminal had its activities suspended on the first week of February after Vale failed to present port operation and water usage permits, according to the city environment secretary.
Guaiba terminal receives up to 40 million mt of iron ore per year by railroad. The ore is taken for export through Vale's Sepetiba port, its main port terminal in Rio de Janeiro state.
Data from industry group Sinferbase showed Vale shipped 2.96 million mt of ore from Guaiba terminal from January to November.