vale allowed to resume work on key railway exp

* Construction was suspended in August by a judge

* Railway links Vale's largest iron ore mine to port

* Expansion will nearly double railway's capacity

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Vale SA received court permission to resume work on a $4.1 billion transportation project needed to increase iron ore output, the world's second-largest mining company said on Friday.

A federal judge in the capital Brasilia struck down an injunction preventing work designed to nearly double the capacity of the Carajas Railway, which connects Vale's enormous Amazon mine complex at Carajas with the Port of Ponta da Madeira in Sao Luis, Brasil, Vale said in a statement.

The railway carries nearly 10 percent of the world's sea-born iron ore exports of about 1 billion tonnes a year. The work will add a second track to the railway for its entire length.

Work on the railway was halted on Aug. 6 after local human rights groups pointed out procedural shortcomings in the environmental-licensing process.

"Currently, the suspension of construction could potentially be of more danger to the environment and society in general than if work was to be resumed," said Mario Cesar Ribeiro, a judge of the Federal Court, First Region in Brasilia.

By expanding the line, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale plans to raise the railway's capacity to 230 million tonnes per year from 130 million tonnes.

The expansion will generate over 8,000 construction jobs and another 1,400 jobs when complete in Brazil's states of Para and Maranhao in Brazil's north, Vale said.

The company said it expects to spend $1 billion of the project's total budget this year. (Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Jeb Blount)


http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL1E8KEL1B20120914


Maybe they'll have room for AVB copper as well as Trindale North ore.