Brazilian miner, a joint venture between Vale and BHP, plans to invest R$13.8 billion ($2.7 billion) to restore full capacity of 26 to 27 million tonnes annually. The company currently operates at roughly 60% of that level.

Samarco commercialized 15.9 million tonnes of pellets and fines in 2025. Production for the first seven months of this year reached 9.09 million tonnes.

"Our clients are investing in large decarbonization projects, mainly in Europe and Japan, transforming their blast furnaces into direct reduction plants, which will require more and more pellets, which is, without a doubt, the great vector for them to decarbonize," Vilela said during a mining event in Belo Horizonte.

Vilela stressed that reparations related to the deadly 2015 Fundao tailings dam collapse remain a concurrent priority. The R$13.8 billion investment is strictly for restoring output capacity and does not cover settlement costs.

Samarco expects to produce 2 million tons of iron-ore fines from tailings by 2028, a sharp increase from the 300,000 tons recovered so far this year.