OREANDA-NEWS. Investment totalling more than BRL 400 million by Vale and its external partners in research projects, involving researchers at universities, companies and other science, technology and innovation organizations, enabled the activation of 161 projects between 2009 and 2012.

All of the initiatives supported are contributing to the development of qualified human resources and the generation of knowledge in areas of interest to Vale. Of these 161 projects, at least 110 have the aim of generating new knowledge to solve specific challenges in our operations. This is the case with studies concerning climate in the Amazon and a laser-based rock drilling system.

The latter study, which began in 2010, is analyzing the possibility of building a tool to help drill through various types of rock using lasers. The first laboratory tests were positive and it is expected that the method will mainly be applied to our mineral excavation operations.

The research’s main benefits include raising the efficiency of drilling, increasing the capacity to drill through different materials without needing to change drill bits, cutting maintenance costs and reducing transportation risks, given that there will be no contact between the optical drill bit and the surface to be drilled.

We have twelve automatic meteorological stations in the eastern Amazon

The research into the impacts of climate change on Vale’s operations in the eastern Amazon has the main aim of investigating climate variations over the last 30 years, between Carajas, Para, and Sao Luis, Maranhao. Twelve automatic meteorological stations monitor the levels of rivers and rainfall, as well as temperature, humidity, wind and air pressure parameters.

Prior knowledge about natural phenomena is very important to our operations. Rainfall alone, for example, is capable of causing a 30% decrease in our output of iron ore, our main business. Using weather forecasts on scales ranging from hours to days and even months, we can plan our operations and minimize losses and costs.