The Brazilian mining major, Vale, expects that the new Malaysian blending facility would help to boost the declining ore exports to Asian region, especially China and Japan. It intends to maximize the sale of its newly launched Sinter Feed Extra Blend (SFXB) from the facility. According to estimates, the company may require to double its exports to China in order to meet its target of 450m t/year of production by 2018.

According to reports, the fines produced from Carajas mines continue to enjoy strong market share. However, the sales from its south eastern mine system has declined sharply following stiff competition with Australian ore with similar Fe content.

The company had launched a new product last week, which is considered as a strategic decision which will help the company boost its declining sales from the south eastern mining system. The company plans to ship bulk quantities of materials from its northern and south eastern systems and blend them at the Malaysian facility. The new blend called Sinter Feed Extra Blend (SFXB) has 62.3% Fe content, lower alumina content and comparatively higher silica content. The plant which currently has a blending capacity of 30 million tonnes per year is expected to provide big boost to Vale’s Chinese exports.

According to official data, Brazil’s share of Chinese iron ore imports declined sharply from 22% at end-2013 to 17% in August this year. The Brazilian ore exports to Japan were also down 6% in August this year when compared with the exports during August last year.