Vale prepara maior expansão da história em Carajás

Fonte: Portal Stylo

Com produção de 240 milhões de toneladas de minério de ferro ao ano, a Vale é a maior do mundo no setor. Nos próximos anos, a empresa deve se isolar ainda mais na liderança. A empresa está em fase de licenciamento de uma nova mina de ferro.

Batizada de S11D, ela é a considerada a maior da história da Vale. Quando estiver em operação, em 2013, vai despejar 90 milhões de toneladas de minério de ferro ao ano no mercado, mais de um terço da produção de minério de ferro da Vale no ano passado e a mesma capacidade da maior mina a céu aberto do mundo, instalada na Serra dos Carajás, no Pará.

Para tirar o negócio do papel, a mineradora vai gastar US$ 11,3 bilhões (R$ 19,9 bilhões), o dobro de seu lucro em 2009. O alto investimento tem explicação: relatório divulgado na semana passada mostra que, nos próximos cinco anos, o consumo mundial de minério de ferro deve atingir 1,7 bilhão de toneladas ao ano, aumento de 70% em relação a 2010.

Produzido pela Global Industry Analysts (GIA), o estudo mostra que o aumento no consumo de minério de ferro é puxado pelo crescimento da economia de países emergentes, em especial a China. Entre os setores que mais usam minério de ferro estão o automotivo e a construção civil.

No primeiro semestre deste ano, os chineses compraram 1,8 milhão de automóveis novos, ou quase 60% das vendas de carro no Brasil no ano passado, quando o mercado bateu recorde por causa da redução de impostos. Já no setor imobiliário, o governo chinês estabeleceu como meta para 2010 a construção de três milhões de apartamentos populares. É um número 50% maior do que o previsto na segunda fase do programa Minha Casa, Minha Vida, do governo federal.

A Vale ainda não revela detalhes da nova mina. Sabe-se que ela está localizada em Canaã dos Carajás, cidade de 23 mil habitantes no sudeste do Pará, e que terá quase a mesma capacidade de produção da mina da Vale no Complexo de Carajás. Descoberta em 1967 e inaugurada em 1985, ela foi concebida para produzir 35 milhões de toneladas ao ano.

Com o crescimento da economia brasileira e os efeitos positivos da globalização, a empresa teve que fazer adaptações na linha de produção para atender à demanda do mercado. As mudanças surtiram efeito. Até o final do ano, a expectativa é de que a produção atinja algo em torno de 110 milhões de toneladas anuais.

Cerca de um terço das 240 milhões de toneladas de minério de ferro produzidas pela Vale no ano passado saíram das minas instaladas na Serra dos Carajás. Isso faz com que o produto seja o mais importante do portfólio da empresa. Em 2009, as vendas de R$ 25,2 bilhões de minério de ferro responderam por pouco mais da metade da receita operacional da Vale.

O fato de ser a maior produtora de minério de ferro do mundo ajudou a empresa a ficar no segundo lugar entre as companhias que mais lucraram no ano passado. Com lucro de US$ 5,5 bilhões, a Vale ficou atrás apenas da Petrobras.

A S11D está em fase de licenciamento e de cotação de equipamentos e serviços. Do total de US$ 11,3 bilhões que serão investidos no projeto S11D, mais da metade será usada para aumentar a infraestrutura e a logística.

A ferrovia de Carajás, usada para transportar o minério até os portos, vai ganhar mais 100 quilômetros de extensão, até Canaã dos Carajás, onde será instalada a nova mina. Já a estrada de ferro atual, que liga Parauapebas a São Luis, no Maranhão, terá 605 dos 892 quilômetros de trilhos duplicados.

Ao mesmo tempo, o Terminal Marítimo de Ponta de Madeira, onde acontece o transbordo do minério de ferro nos navios que levam o produto para o exterior, vai ganhar mais um píer. Até 2015, a capacidade de embarque vai aumentar para 230 milhões de toneladas ao ano, quase o dobro da capacidade atual.

Canada's $1B loan to Vale criticized

A union and a taxpayers group Monday both criticized a federal loan to Brazilian mining giant Vale Inc.

Source: CBC News

The Export Development Corporation, a Crown corporation that provides financial support for Canadian exports, said it is creating a line of credit to help Vale with expansion in Canada and to encourage the firm to expand its use of Canadian suppliers.

Miners at the Voisey's Bay nickel mine in northern Labrador have been on strike against Vale since August 2009. (CBC)

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation called for the federal government to scrap the loan and the United Steelworkers described the assistance as an insult to workers.

The loan will include $250 million US for capital projects at the Long Harbor processing plant in Newfoundland and Labrador. Another $250 million will be available for several projects in Ontario.

The loan is also intended to generate opportunities for Canadian firms by rewarding Vale for using domestic suppliers.

The remaining $500 million, the EDC said in a news release, will be available for future purchase of Canadian goods and services by Vale for its operations outside Canada, or to support Vale exports involving signed contracts with Canadian suppliers.

But Kevin Gaudet, the federal director of the taxpayers federation, said that while the loans will help the company, they won't do much for Canadian workers.

"If corporate welfare worked at creating jobs, every Canadian would have two by now," he said in a news release. "This loan should be scrapped and fast.

"Why are Canadian taxpayers lending precious money to a firm that says it already has so much excess cash?"

On Sept. 23, 2010, Vale announced a $2-billion US share buy-back program.

The federation said Ottawa should provide more details about the terms of the loan, including Vale's intended schedule for borrowing money, at what interest rate and whether there are conditions under which the company wouldn't have to repay some of the money.

The firm's operations in Canada have been marked by labour disputes since its $19.4-billion takeover of Inco's nickel mines in 2006.

Union calls loan 'unacceptable'

"It is unacceptable that the federal government, after 16 months of sitting on the sidelines and making unhelpful comments while Canadian communities are ravaged by Vale, is now offering this massively profitable multinational $1 billion in financing," said Ken Neumann, the Steelworkers' national director for Canada.

"It is an insult to the workers in Labrador and to Canadians who think the government should stand up for working families."

The same day as EDC's announcement, Vale and the union for 130 striking members of United Steelworkers Local 9508 in Labrador broke off talks. The workers have been on strike over wages, benefits and seniority since Aug. 1, 2009.

Workers at the former Inco mine in Sudbury, Ont., ended a year-long strike in August.

The Sudbury strike was a bitter one, with the union accusing Vale of bad-faith bargaining over wage bonuses, job transfers, contracting out and pensions, and the company taking the union to court over various alleged incidents on the picket lines.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/10/04/vale-edc-financing.html?ref=rss#socialcomments#ixzz11TeO4Grr

Vale assina contrato de financiamento de longo prazo com EDC

Fonte: Vale

Rio de Janeiro, 4 de Outubro de 2010 - Vale S.A. (Vale) anuncia que assinou acordo com a Export Development Canada (EDC), agência oficial de crédito à exportação do Canadá, para o financiamento em infra-estrutura de projetos voltados a exportação e para futuras oportunidades de novos negócios da Vale no Canadá.

De acordo com o contrato, a EDC fornecerá uma linha de crédito de até US$ 1 bilhão. A quantia de US$ 500 milhões estará disponível para operações no Canadá da seguinte forma: (a) até US$ 250 milhões serão destinados ao desenvolvimento da refinaria de níquel de Long Harbor na província de Newfoundland and Labrador; e (b) US$ 250 milhões serão dedicados ao financiamento de projetos na província de Ontário.

Os US$ 500 milhões restantes estarão disponíveis para o financiamento de compras da Vale no Canadá para o suprimento de nossas operações fora do Canadá.

O financiamento de longo prazo não requer garantias reais. Os termos desta transação financeira foram realizados a partir de taxas de juros de mercado.

Este contrato faz parte de um amplo pacote de financiamento para o programa de investimentos da Vale envolvendo instituições oficiais de crédito de vários países. Dessa forma, constitui-se em importante instrumento de apoio às nossas iniciativas de crescimento em condições adequadas, de custo competitivo e longo prazo, para o financiamento dos nossos projetos, reforçando nossa capacidade de geração de valor ao acionista.

EDC to lend Vale up to $1-billion

TAVIA GRANT
Source: The Globe and Mail
Published Monday, Oct. 04, 2010

Export Development Canada is set to announce Monday one of the largest deals in the government agency's 65-year history: up to $1-billion (U.S.) in financing to Brazilian miner Vale (VALE-N31.42-0.28-0.88%).

The loan is for Vale's projects in Canada and to encourage the world's second-largest miner to use more Canadian suppliers in its operations outside the country.

Of the total, $500-million is available to Vale for its operations outside Canada. Up to $250-million will go toward the Long Harbour nickel processing plant in Newfoundland while the remaining $250-million will be available for several projects slated for development in Ontario, including the Sudbury area.

The announcement is likely to trigger debate, given the controversial history of Vale's presence in Canada. Rio de Janeiro-based Vale's 2006 purchase of the storied nickel miner Inco Ltd. came amid a flurry of takeovers of Canadian companies, sparking concern about the hollowing out of Corporate Canada. A bitter, year-long labour dispute at the miner's operations in Sudbury ensued in July, 2009, after workers rejected proposed changes to the pension plan and a reduction in the bonus tied to the price of nickel. The strike was finally settled this July, with concessions made on both sides.

The financing announced today will bolster Canada's mining industry, and give smaller companies more access to Vale as it expands globally, EDC said.

"This is done with a view to maintain and expand Canada's position with nickel mines in the international marketplace," Eric Siegel, the agency's chief executive officer, said in an interview.

The export agency has given loans to foreign companies before, to companies such as Amtrak and Brazil's Petrobras, while encouraging them to use Canadian suppliers. In its years of financing Chile's Codelco, the number of Canadian suppliers used by the miner has risen to 80 from five.

But funding a foreign company's operations within Canada is a new approach for EDC, Mr. Siegel said.

Asked whether Vale is obligated to use Canadian suppliers as a condition of the deal, he said it is not formally written into the loan agreement. Rather it is an "understanding" that the Brazilian company involve more Canadian companies, such as engineering firmsand equipment suppliers, in its procurement process.

"It's an understanding. At the end of the day [Canadian firms] have to be competitive from a technical and price perspective, but this is clearly giving them a leg up in terms of access and enhanced attention from Vale," he said.

(On Monday, EDC clarified its earlier comment, saying the obligation to consider Canadian procurement is in fact written into the loan agreement.)

Vale, which posted a second-quarter profit of $3.7-billion, is the world's largest iron ore miner and is expanding its global presence in markets such as Asia and the Middle East.

EDC plans initially to extend a portion of the $500-million for Vale's global operations, and then evaluate whether more Canadian companies are winning contracts from Vale. It would only grant the rest of the loan if Vale demonstrates it's giving more business to Canadian companies.

Vale's expansion plans, within Canada and around the world, will create "hundreds of millions" of dollars in potential supply and service opportunities for Canadian companies over the next few years, EDC believes.

Terms of the loan weren't disclosed. The unsecured loan was underwritten "at market rates," EDC says. The agency is "confident" about Vale's credit strength and says it has no concerns about repayment.

The Crown corporation has been profitable in 64 of the past 65 years, Mr. Siegel said. After lending to a foreign company, EDC typically sees the amount of Canadian procurement match or exceed its original loan within four or five years.

The country's export credit agency helps Canadian exporters and investors expand their international businesses through loans, advice and insurance. About 80 per cent of its customers are small and mid-sized firms. Much of its effort in recent years has been focused on trying to get Canadian companies to diversify into foreign markets, beyond the United States, particularly into emerging economies like Brazil.

The agency's mandate has been expanded since the credit crunch to support more businesses within Canada through additional lending, insurance and advisory services.

Révolte globale contre un géant minier

Vale, un groupe brésilien implanté sur cinq continents

Le Monde Diplomatique

Trois entreprises se partagent la production de minerai de fer à l’échelle planétaire. Un « cartel » dominé par la brésilienne Vale. Toutefois, depuis quelques années, cette dernière se heurte à une nouvelle résistance. Des salariés, des écologistes, des paysans dénoncent les dégâts sociaux et environnementaux de l’activité minière. Pis, à l’image de la multinationale, ces contestataires se sont « globalisés »…

Par Philippe Revelli

Sudbury, le 11 mars 2010. Dans cette petite ville située à quatre cents kilomètres au nord de Toronto (Ontario, Canada), en file indienne, les mineurs de la compagnie Vale-Inco attendent leur tour devant l’isoloir. Ils sont en grève depuis huit mois. La semaine précédente, les négociations entamées entre la direction de la compagnie et l’United Steelworkers (USW), le syndicat des métallurgistes, ont été rompues. A l’origine du conflit, une nouvelle mouture de la convention collective : gel des salaires, remise en cause des conditions de leur indexation sur l’inflation, modification du régime des retraites et réduction du bonus annuel lié à la rentabilité de l’entreprise (en moyenne, 25 % du salaire de base, jusque-là). En sortant du bureau de vote, un gréviste brûle le document listant les propositions de la direction. D’autres l’imitent, nombreux. Le résultat du scrutin est sans appel : à 88,7 %, les salariés décident de poursuivre le mouvement.

Les mineurs n’en sont pas à leur première grève dure. L’International Nickel Company of Canada (Inco) exploite le nickel de la région depuis plus d’un siècle et, au fil des conflits, l’USW s’est imposé comme l’interlocuteur incontournable de la direction. De sorte que, si un survol de la région révèle les stigmates de l’activité minière sur l’environnement, les luttes successives ont arraché d’importants droits sociaux qui bénéficient à l’ensemble de la communauté. Ou plutôt bénéficiaient.

En 2006, le rachat de la compagnie canadienne par la multinationale brésilienne Vale change la donne. Même si le siège de la nouvelle société — Vale-Inco — demeure au Canada, les conflits ne se règlent plus au rythme du quadrille… mais de la samba. Et les mineurs n’y gagnent pas forcément.

Arguant de la crise financière, les dirigeants de Vale-Inco ne tardent pas à revenir sur les promesses qui avaient apaisé les réserves d’Ottawa quant au rachat d’une entreprise canadienne par une concurrente étrangère. Le conflit ouvert par la remise en cause de la convention collective offre à la direction (...)

Retrouvez la version intégrale de cet article dans Le Monde diplomatique d’octobre 2010 actuellement en kiosques.