PARIS, May 5 (Reuters) - French steel pipe maker Vallourec said on Friday that its Pau Branco iron ore mine in Brazil would return to full production potential by the end of the second quarter at the latest after it obtained the necessary permissions from local authorities.
Operations at the Pau Branco mine were temporarily suspended in January 2022 following flooding-related damage to its core Cachoeirinha waste pile, the statement said.
Operations were partially restarted in May 2022 using alternative waste piles, albeit at lower-than-normal capacity levels. The production sold in 2022 reached 4.0 million tonnes, well below the full potential of 8.7 million tonnes per year.
"Vallourec now confirms that production sold in the first quarter 2023 was in line with guidance for approximately 1.5 million tonnes, and April production sold was approximately 0.6 million tonnes."
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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