Minas-Rio: an iron ore operation in Brazil

Minas-Rio is an integrated mine and processing complex producing iron ore in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with a 529 km slurry pipeline to the Port of Acu, Brazil, operated by Anglo American. The sources report 24,752 thousand tonnes ('000 t), pellet feed, wet metric tonnes for CY2025; the basis is 100% of the operation (Anglo American consolidates Minas-Rio), as reported by the owner. Measured as usable ore, whole-operation output for CY2025 is 24,752,000 tonnes: about 1% of world iron ore output in 2025 and about 5.9% 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?

Owners of Minas-Rio
Owner	Interest	As of
Anglo American (operator) The annual report states that Anglo American owns 85% of the integrated Minas-Rio operation.	85%	31 December 2025
Vale The annual report says Anglo American transferred a 15% interest in Minas-Rio to Vale.	15%	31 December 2025

Interests are as stated in the sources below on the date shown. Ownership changes with deals, so a stake may have changed since the date shown.

How much does it produce?

Reported output of Minas-Rio
Period	Output	Basis	Where in the source
CY2025	24,752 thousand tonnes ('000 t), pellet feed, wet metric tonnes Pellet feed of about 67% Fe, shipped with about 9% moisture.	100% of the operation (Anglo American consolidates Minas-Rio), as reported by the owner	printed p.8, Premium iron ore table, row 'Minas-Rio - Brazil'; printed p.9, row 'Pellet feed' under Minas-Rio production, 2025 column · Anglo American plc
CY2024	25,037 thousand tonnes ('000 t), pellet feed, wet metric tonnes	100% of the operation, as reported by the owner	printed p.8, same row, 2024 column · Anglo American plc

Between CY2024 and CY2025 the reported figure fell by 1.1%, in the same unit and on the same basis.

How the usable-ore figure is worked out. Anglo American prints 24,752 thousand wet metric tonnes of pellet feed produced at Minas-Rio in 2025. The report states volumes at wet basis and the table is not labelled as a share; Anglo American holds 85%, so the figure is read as the whole-operation total reported by the majority owner. 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.

Anglo American reports Minas-Rio as a single product, pellet feed, in wet metric tonnes; the product is shipped with about 9% moisture (printed p.8).
Anglo American says it announced in February 2024 an agreement to acquire and integrate the contiguous Serpentina resource into Minas-Rio (annual report, footnote 12).

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, Serra Leste, Carajas. See where iron ore comes from for the country totals, the country page for Brazil, and Anglo American for its other operations here.

Sources

Anglo American plc: Integrated Annual Report 2025 (annual report, CY2025). Opened 4 November 2026; used: PDF pp.17, 48, 138, 141; also PDF pp.160, 323.
Anglo American plc: Production Report for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2025 (quarterly production report (RNS, 5 February 2026), Q4 2025 and CY2025). Opened 4 November 2026; used: printed pp.8-9 (Premium Iron Ore).
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.
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