Vale Producing Sustainable Sand from Tailings
Strategic Research Institute
Published on :
07 Dec, 2021, 5:30 am
Combining innovation, sustainability and benefits for society, Vale invested around 50 million Brazilian Reais in the development of sand produced from adaptation in the iron ore operation in the State of Minas Gerais. The sandy material, previously disposed in piles and dams, is processed and transformed into a product, following the same quality controls used in the production of iron ore. After seven years of research, Vale Sand comes as 100% legal and efficient alternative for the civil construction industry for use in cement, precast concrete, interlocked blocks, pavement, among others.
The sand produced by Vale is considered by-product of the iron ore, considering that it is composed of material which was not used in the ore production process. The previous tailings now return for new treatment and become a product with high silica content and low iron content. As it is an essentially physical processing, the sand is not toxic, considering that it does not undergo change in the composition of the materials. Another positive point for the civil construction is that the chemical and granulometric uniformity of the product is high.
Only in 2021, more than 250 thousand tons of the products have already been processed and destined for sale to companies or donation to city halls for use in concrete, mortar, precast, artifacts, cement and road pavement. So far, Vale has sold more than 1 million tons of sand to companies in Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, São Paulo and the Federal District. The deliveries will be made next year. There is perspective for even higher growth for 2023, reaching 2 million tons.
This action promotes a circular economy within our units and reduces the impact of tailings disposal for the environment and the society, in addition to being a reliable alternative for the civil construction industry, where the demand for sand is high"