Várzea do Lopes iron ore mine

Várzea do Lopes is a mid-sized surface mine owned and operated by Gerdau located in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF) region of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, approximately 50 kilometres south of the city of Belo Horizonte. The operation produces a mix of lump, fines and concentrate products that are either transferred to Gerdau's nearby Ouro Branco steel mill or, to a lesser extent, sold into the seaborne export market. Várzea do Lopes' production is slated to decrease by almost 23% in 2023, after low ROM availability impacted production in 2021. Overall cash cost is also expected to increase by over 9% owing to the rising inflation and the inclusion of rail and port costs. In February 2019, Gerdau announced a plan to decommission the Alemães upstream tailings dam and install dry processing technologies at its mining sites.