Serra Leste, Carajas: an iron ore operation in Brazil
Serra Leste, Carajas is an open-pit mine producing iron ore in Carajas, Para, Brazil, operated by Vale. The sources report 6.0 million metric tons (Mt), as printed in the 20-F iron ore production table; run-of-mine and feed for pelletizing plants; wet or dry not stated for CY2025; the basis is 100% of the complex, as reported by the owner and operator. Measured as usable ore, whole-operation output for CY2025 is 6,000,000 tonnes: about 0.2% of world iron ore output in 2025 and about 1.4% of Brazil's; it is one of 21 operations on this site whose output can be stated in usable ore.
Who owns and operates it?
| Owner | Interest | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Vale | 100% | 31 December 2025 |
How much does it produce?
| Period | Output | Basis | Where in the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CY2025 | 6.0 million metric tons (Mt), as printed in the 20-F iron ore production table; run-of-mine and feed for pelletizing plants; wet or dry not stated | 100% of the complex, as reported by the owner and operator | printed p.47, Item 4, 1.1.2 Iron ore production table, row 'Serra Leste', 2025 column · Vale S.A. |
| CY2024 | 5.1 million metric tons (Mt), as printed in the 20-F iron ore production table; run-of-mine and feed for pelletizing plants; wet or dry not stated | 100% of the complex, as reported by the owner and operator | printed p.47, Item 4, 1.1.2 Iron ore production table, row 'Serra Leste', 2024 column · Vale S.A. |
Between CY2024 and CY2025 the reported figure rose by 17.6%, in the same unit and on the same basis.
How the usable-ore figure is worked out. Vale prints 6.0 million metric tons for the Serra Leste complex in 2025. Vale owns 100% of the Northern System and operates it. The unit is million metric tons as printed; the table does not say whether tonnes are wet or dry. World mine production of usable ore in 2025 was 2,600,000,000 tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026); Brazil produced 420,000,000 tonnes.
Status: operating, as of 31 December 2025.
- Vale's 20-F says its production figures include third-party ore purchases, run-of-mine and feed for pelletizing plants, so the table is not saleable product and the share is indicative. The complex rows add to Vale's own production of 304.9 Mt in 2025; the 20-F prints third-party purchases of 31.2 Mt separately, for a total of 336.1 Mt.
- Vale describes the Northern System (Carajas, Para) as open pit mining of high-grade hematite with an iron grade around 66%; ore is railed on the Carajas railroad to the Ponta da Madeira maritime terminal.
- Serra Leste ore is trucked from the mine site to the Carajas railroad.
How does it compare?
Other iron ore operations on this site: Hamersley mines (Rio Tinto Pilbara), Hope Downs (Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting), Robe River - Robe Valley, Robe River - West Angelas, Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), Simandou Blocks 3 and 4 (SimFer), Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO), Fortescue Pilbara hematite operations, Iron Bridge (magnetite), Onslow Iron, Serra Sul (S11D), Carajas, Serra Norte, Carajas. In Brazil: Serra Sul (S11D), Carajas, Serra Norte, Carajas, Itabira complex, Minas Centrais complex, Mariana complex, Vargem Grande complex, Paraopeba complex, Minas-Rio. See where iron ore comes from for the country totals, the country page for Brazil, and Vale for its other operations here.
Sources
- Vale S.A.: Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2025 (annual report (SEC Form 20-F, filed 2026-03-27), CY2025 with 2024 and 2023 comparatives). Opened 4 November 2026; used: printed pp.43-47 (iron ore operations, production table); also printed pp.52, 103-104.
- U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Iron Ore (government statistical summary, 2025 (world and country mine production of usable ore)). Opened 3 November 2026; used: world and country mine production table, usable ore.
Method and limits
- Reported, not estimated. Output is the figure the operator or owner published, in the unit it used. This site does not estimate output where none is published.
- Shares. A share divides output in usable ore by the USGS world or country total for 2025. Where the operator's year is a fiscal year or the unit is a concentrate or a carbonate equivalent, the share is approximate or not given.
- What is compared. Operators print tonnes of ore: saleable production for most, run-of-mine and pelletizing feed for Vale, and shipments for Fortescue and Onslow Iron, mostly as wet tonnes. The figure is compared with the USGS usable-ore total, which does not state a moisture basis, so the share is indicative.
- Whole operation or owner's share. The basis column says which. A joint venture's output is never counted twice.
- Partial list. Only operations with a published figure are listed, so the rank is among those on this site, not among every iron ore mine. Shares of a country's output mix periods and bases, so treat them as indicative.
- Made with AI assistance, checked against sources. The facts were gathered from the documents above by AI-assisted research and re-checked against those documents by a second, independent pass; the page text is generated from the data. No professional review took place. How the site is made. To report an error, contact us; fixes are logged on the corrections page.