(Yicai Global) Aug. 26 -- Brazilian mining giant Vale put its first iron ore grinding center in China into operation yesterday, The Paper reported.

The base is located at the Shulang Lake Ore Transfer Terminal at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, China's largest iron ore and crude oil transfer base. It has three production lines with an annual production capacity of three million tons. The plant's first product, GF88, is a new iron ore pellet feed.

Ore grinding is the process by which mechanical equipment reduces ore to a powder. The latest ore grinding equipment used at the base will not produce gangue or waste water as neither fuel nor water is required during production.

Rio de Janiero-based Vale is the world's largest producer of iron ore, pellets and nickel.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in southwestern Zhejiang province is the busiest port in the world in terms of cargo tonnage. Last year it had cargo throughput of 1.12 billion tons and container throughput of 27.53 million twenty-foot equivalent units.

Editor: Kim Taylor