OREANDA-NEWS. November 7, 2011. Vale SA, the world’s largest iron-oreproducer, plans to hire 100 researchers for its technologyinstitute as it seeks to boost production and meet growingdemand for the metal. The Vale Technology Institute, which the Rio de Janeiro-based company established in 2009 as a non-profit organizationto conduct scientific research for the mining industry, hashired 11 specialists and expects to have more than 60 by the endof next year, Luiz Mello, executive director of the institute,said in an interview today in London.

“For us, it’s a question of increasing volume and gettingmore of the product to the consumer market,” Mello said.“Prices are good now. They may not be the same in the future.”

The researchers include scientists from Belgium’s Ghent University, Australia’s University of Queensland and Brazil’sfederal universities of Para and Lavras. They will be based attwo facilities being built in the states of Minas Gerais and Para, Mello said. The institute plans to invest 350 millionreais (USD 200 million)in the centers, which will offerpostgraduate courses, accommodating about about 300 professorsand students.

Vale is expanding its iron ore, nickel and copperproduction as its seeks to tap higher demand from China andother emerging markets for minerals and metals. The companyexpects to boost iron output to 469 million metric tons by 2015,51 percent more than an estimated 311 million tons this year, itsaid June 27.

Iron-Ore Prices

Iron-ore prices for immediate delivery rose 22 percent inthe 12 months through Sept. 30 as China, the biggest consumer ofthe raw material, invested in low-income housing and otherprojects.

The steelmaking material slumped 31 percent in October.Vale attributed the decline to tighter credit in China and aseasonal oversupply in Brazil and Australia, in an Oct. 26earnings report, and said it expects prices to rebound and“remain high for a long period ahead.” They rose 0.9 percentto USD 120.40 a ton today.