The new deposit in Mato Grosso state of Brazil may be the largest discovered iron ore deposit in the world. It may potentially be greater than Vale SA’s Carajas mine. The state Secretary Pedro Nadaf said that the new deposit may contain 11.5 billion metric tons of ore with 41% iron content.
The state and federal officials have not yet determined if the deposit is commercially viable. However if it is, then it will be bigger than Carajas which has about 7.1 billion tons of proven and probable reserves according to Vale. The Carajas mine is smaller than the Mato Grosso deposit but it has higher grade iron ore of about 67% iron content.
The logistics of developing the Mato Grosso deposit may not be economical as the mine will be deep in the interior of Brazil away from any ports.
A railway or river barge system will have to be developed to get the production to the international market. The concession holder of the deposit has been named by the Mato Grosso state government as GME4 of Global Mine Exploration.