Transcription
Hello and welcome. I'm Dom Hail for Mining Magazine. I'm here today with Bruno P, Valet's global mining director of technical services. He'll be discussing Valet's circular mining program, Waste to Value, which has consolidated more than 150 initiatives into a structured strategy to turn waste and tailings into new resources, supporting both operational performance and global sustainability goals.
Bruno, it's a pleasure to have you here today.
It's our pleasure, Don. Thank you so much.
Bruno, I want to start by asking what was the main driver behind creating the circular mining program and how was it rolled out across Valet?
It's a very interesting point, Don. We have the ambition to become a zero-waste and tailings company. We had a major disaster in the past and we embarked in a journey to transform the cultural, the culture of this company and also the technical aspects of this company. So we started pursuing circularity as a main drive to change our business, moving from linear production to circular one and really addressing the tailings issue that we have in our industry. So basically, Valet now is reprocessing waste and tailings, achieving 4% of our total production that accounts to 12.7 million tons of product last year, and this year we expect to achieve more than 20 million tons of circular products in our portfolio. And we are with the ambition of achieving 10% of our production coming from waste and tailings reprocessed material. And we did that because we believe it's the right call for our industry to really address the tailings and waste from the past and also improving the projects and operations for the future.
Well, thank you for that, Bruno. The program has already delivered significant results in its first year. What stands out to you as the key early achievements or lessons learned?
Of achievements? We implemented two key projects, uh, within Valet. The first one is our Gelado project that's basically re-mining a tailings dam in the middle of the Amazon. That's very important for us because we are in a very sensitive region. So by opening Gelado, we avoid the need of licensing new mining faces in some areas. So, a very important project for Valet, showing our commitment to really address the tailings issue in our industry. The second one, it's our flagship Capana operation that we have just launched, basically reprocessing waste from the past. So we shut down this mine years ago and we are coming back online delivering products from a waste source, and that is part of the 150 initiatives that really motivate us every single day to deliver a different mining industry to the globe.
Okay, let's dig into some of the other initiatives on the ground. Can you highlight some of those other flagship projects now underway and how they point to the future of waste to value?
Yes, we, we have, um, a concept of small modular plants as well that we are starting to implement across tailings dams in Valet. So basically bringing small plants closer to those tailings dams that are highly mobile, it's starting to bring new products to Valet's portfolio. We also have as part of those initiatives, processing materials alongside of typical ones that were waste in the past. Uh, so materials high in contaminants that were waste flows for Valet, we are bringing that with R&D investment. So we, we are investing quite heavily in developing new processing lines to really incorporate materials that are typical waste for the mining, mining industry. And as part of that, uh, we expect to deliver savings in CO2 over the next 10 years, equivalent to 1.2 million cars running at European cycle for a year. So that's how circularity can help the mining industry. Basically, you reduce your carbon footprint because you're reprocessing materials. You are delivering high-quality products. And guess what? We broke a paradigm with Invalé, because everybody expects that circular sources will cost more. Nowadays, the lowest cost product in our portfolio is coming from circularity. So that breaks the paradigm in the industry that just by being linear, you are being lower cost. Not all the time, and we are delivering that with Invalé.
Well, this naturally connects to Valet's wider commitments on sustainability and safety. How does the program support Valet's wider goals on decarbonization, dam de-characterization, and ESG performance?
Basically, we deliver a lower carbon footprint with circular products, as I pointed, equivalent in 10 years to 1.2 million cars running for a year. We are also employing thousands of people into circular mining projects, as I said, Gelado, Capana, and more than 150 initiatives. And we are also, by doing so, generating new taxes for the country and delivering products that the industry, the, the steel industry really needs to decarbonize. So, as we are producing lower carbon products, basically we also help the steel industry to decarbonize. That's the whole connection. And we expect to become a zero tailings, zero waste, and carbon-neutral company. That's our mining of the future, Valet, that connects to circularity and to all other aspects of the Valet journey towards the future.
Well, finally then, Bruno, let's look to the road ahead. What role will partnerships and innovation play in scaling waste to value over the next decade?
Partnerships and collaboration is an essential part of the program. Basically, we have partnerships with universities, different consulting services, other players to really develop that that we believe the future of the mining industry. As we all know, we are dealing with finite resources, and by doing so, we need to make the maximum use of those resources, and that needs to come as collaboration. One example is those modular, small modular plants that I mentioned. Those plants are being implemented by partners that we are developing, local partners, so employing local people. So that's not just Valet doing this journey. That's a massive journey and a very beautiful journey, but our partners, suppliers, consultants, universities, government supporting that, also ICMM and other bodies that are really pushing us, um, and helping us to deliver the right thing, uh, for the mining industry of the future.
Well, Bruno, thank you very much for your insights today. It's been a fascinating look into how Valet is turning circularity into a core part of mining's future. I've been speaking with Bruno P, global mining director of technical services at Valet. I'm Dom Hail. Thanks for watching.