In Brazil, Vale has completed the automation of the three stacker-reclaimers it operates at its Guaíba Island Terminal (TIG), which is located at Mangaratibo, in Rio de Janeiro state. Upgrades, which cost $10 million, allow the equipment to operate completely autonomously, without the requirement of on-board personnel.
The company claims that this enables it to remove operatives from potentially dangerous working areas, and has already resulted in a 12.3% improvement in ore recovery rates compared to the previous manual operation.
At TIG, stacker-reclaimers handle iron ore in the stockpile area, loading it onto a conveyor-based system to make up shipments for export by maritime vessel.
To date, Vale has trained 70 personnel to work in the new automated environment, essentially overseeing operations undertaken by the upgraded stacker-reclaimers.