According to an official press release, Vale’s “green briquette” is made using iron ore and agglomerant recovered using sand from mine tailing treatments. The briquette is intended to replace the emissions-heavy process of sintering, which uses significant quantities of coal to reach the required firing temperature for agglomeration. Vale’s green briquette is dried or “cold agglomerated” at a far lower temperature than sintering, requiring less power and resulting in up to a 10% reduction in CO₂ emissions.

Vale will invest US$185 million to install a new briquetting plant at its Vargem Grande Complex in Minas Gerais, and convert two of its Tubarão, Vitória, pelletizing plants to produce green briquette. The three plants should be operational by 2023, with an estimated initial production capacity of 7 million metric tons of green briquette per year, the company said.