How artificial intelligence is shaping the m... - BNamericas

How artificial intelligence is shaping the mineral sector in Brazil

The mining sector in Brazil is experiencing the growing impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), which range from the application of the technology in companies’ operations to structural changes in demand for mineral commodities.

In the operational field, mining companies of different sizes and segments have been incorporating AI solutions to increase productivity, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the safety of their operations.

As part of this trend, Brazil’s largest mining company, Vale, recently inaugurated its first model plant, marking the beginning of a new data‑driven operational process.

The Conceição 2 Plant, located in Itabira, in the state of Minas Gerais, was chosen to receive the project, becoming a benchmark for expanding the model to other operations of the company.

The unit has been modernized to integrate processes using artificial intelligence, expand automation, and reduce workers’ exposure to hazardous activities. With a processing capacity of 11.2 million tons per year, the plant is becoming a laboratory for the adoption of new technologies in mining.

“The Model Plant is more than a project: it represents a new way of operating, based on the application of advanced technologies that redefine the standards of efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness in mining. This initiative positions Vale at the forefront of the most modern and innovative iron ore processing plants in the world. The program integrates technologies and robust process governance, creating a safer, more predictable, and more efficient environment, with highly skilled people,” said Carlos Medeiros, Vale’s vice president of Operations, in a recent statement.

The implementation of the Model Plant in Itabira took a year and a half and included 51 solutions aimed at eliminating bottlenecks and improving operations. In less than two years of the pilot project, the unit’s productivity increased 25%, allowing the plant to reach its planned capacity. In 2024, production was 9 million tons and, this year, the unit is already qualified to produce 11.2 million tons.

There were also advances in the product mix. The share of pellet feed for direct reduction – a premium and strategic product for the decarbonization of the steel industry – increased by 40%. In addition, mineral recovery was optimized, increasing resource utilization and operational efficiency.

Another company that has been investing in artificial intelligence is Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP. This year, the company implemented COI Maestro, an AI platform installed in its Integrated Operations Center (COI) to support operational decision-making.

The tool analyzes consolidated operation data and recommends adjustments to parameters such as iron, silica, and phosphorus content, allowing greater precision in the production of iron ore pellets and reducing the process’s natural variations.

"With this integrated vision, artificial intelligence simulates scenarios and, based on mathematical and predictive models, indicates the parameters that should guide short-term production", said Glauber Bomtempo, process engineer at Samarco, in a recent statement.

Meanwhile, Aclara Resources, which is developing rare earth projects in Brazil, also intends to use artificial intelligence to optimize the processes for separating heavy rare earths.

The company was selected to participate in the Genesis Mission initiative of the United States Department of Energy, aimed at developing AI technologies to optimize the domestic separation of rare earths. The technology will be applied at the company’s future processing plant in the United States, which will be supplied with minerals from the company’s projects in Brazil and Chile.

"This selection by the United States Department of Energy represents an important milestone for Aclara and validates our vision of combining cutting-edge process engineering with artificial intelligence to strengthen the critical minerals supply chain," said Ramón Barúa, Aclara's CEO. "The project will help accelerate the development of next-generation operational tools for the separation of heavy rare earths, while reinforcing our strategy of building a secure, resilient, and technologically advanced supply chain across the Americas."

The use of artificial intelligence is also advancing in the public sector.

At the beginning of this year, Brazil and Canada entered into a partnership to develop research aimed at identifying areas with greater potential for nickel deposits.

The initiative brings together the Geological Survey of Brazil (SGB) and the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) in joint projects that include mineral potential modeling, analyses using artificial intelligence, and shared data processing on an integrated platform.

AI also drives demand for minerals

The expansion of artificial intelligence is not only transforming mining companies’ operations.

Technology is also beginning to change the profile of demand for mineral commodities, mainly due to the advance of data center construction around the world.

If, until not long ago, the expansion of electric vehicles and energy storage was the main growth driver for the lithium market, artificial intelligence has added a new structural source of demand.

“We continue to believe in very strong growth in the electric vehicle market, but today there is a new and extremely relevant component: the expansion of data centers driven by artificial intelligence. AI should continue to increase the need for new data centers for many decades, creating additional structural demand for lithium batteries,” said Marc Fogassa, CEO and chairman of the board of Atlas Lithium, owner of a lithium project worth almost US$ 60 million in Minas Gerais, to BNamericas.

Another mineral benefiting from this trend is copper, considered essential for the electrification of the economy and the expansion of digital infrastructure.

The construction of new data centers, which depends on more power grids and transmission systems, should significantly increase demand for the metal in the coming decades.

"Copper is a product for which we should see an expansion in demand in the long term. As it is absolutely necessary throughout the electrification process, whether in transportation or in data processing, it is one of those minerals that really concern the commodities market," said Pablo Cesário, president of the Brazilian Mining Institute (Ibram), stressing that the sector is already closely monitoring the risks of scarcity in view of the limitations of global supply.

(The original version of this content was written in Portuguese)

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