​Vale and Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group held a ceremony at NZP Group's headquarters, located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China to celebrate the inauguration of the Shulanghu Grinding Hub (the "Grinding Hub").

Located in the Shulanghu Ore Transfer Terminal, in Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, the Grinding Hub is the first grinding hub of Vale in China, having three production lines and totaling a nominal capacity of 3 million tons per year.

The first product to be produced at the Grinding Hub is an innovative product called GF88. The new product is a high-grade ground iron ore fine using Vale's Carajas Fines (IOCJ) as raw material, which provides an excellent environmental-friendly solution for pellet production and supports steelmaking clients with the challenge of reducing their carbon footprint, part of Vale's scope 3 emissions.

Marcello Spinelli, Vale's Executive Director of Ferrous Minerals, virtually attended the ceremony. As per his speech, "Vale is enriching its product portfolio to better meet China's increasing demand for quality, environmental performance and innovation in a new era. GF88 is a truly 'green' mineral product. It enjoys high iron content, low impurities and low loss-on-ignition characteristics. It also deploys a unique, innovative and environmental-friendly production process, which has no need for heating or water and generates no tailings. With the launching of GF88 in China, together with other high-quality iron ore products and blends, Vale will continue to contribute to China's greener future".

The Grinding Hub is the result of an extensive partnership between Vale and the NZP Group, which dates back to 2016, when the two parties began to cooperate on ore blending for the production of the Brazilian Blend Fines (BRBF). In December 2019, Vale and NZP Group further strengthened their partnership by signing a grinding service contract to launch new ground iron ore products in China.

Despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the expert technical teams in Brazil and China have been closely working together to advance the Shulanghu grinding project while maintaining health and safety as a top priority.