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Iron ore transshipment through Punta del Arenal Norte totaled 889,427 tons between January and April 2026.
According to the National Port Administration (ANP), mining transport operations on the Paraná – Paraguay Waterway are a new operational possibility that has become a reality in Uruguay's port system. The entity participates in this business by managing a riverbed located in the Uruguay River, upstream from the Port of Nueva Palmira, called the Punta del Arenal Norte Lightering and Cargo Complement Zone.
A floating Transfer Station operated by the Brazilian company LGH Mining is installed in this sector. In turn, at the port of Nueva Palmira, the Corporación Navios terminal also operates with iron ore transfer.
The tons of this product loaded at kilometer 0 of the waterway then sail south and are transshipped in the Montevideo outer harbor to larger vessels for their destinations around the world.
LHG Mining produces approximately 10 million tons of iron ore annually, which must be moved to its exit to the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, it plans the extraction of 25 million tons in the future, with the consequent increase in its transport capacity.
River transport from the production area in Corumbá is carried out with barges and pushers owned by LHG. For this purpose, a new fleet of 400 vessels – with a cost of 1 billion dollars – is under construction in Brazil and is already arriving at the waterway, through the Port of Nueva Palmira.
Upon arrival at the transfer stations anchored in Punta del Arenal, under the jurisdiction of the ANP, the barges unload the mineral with the cranes and grabs of the "Santa Isabel" station. Then, using the conveyor belts of the "Portiguar" station vessel, the holds of Panamax vessels are filled.
These vessels connect the stations in Punta del Arenal with the mother station in the Transfer Zone (ZT) of the Montevideo outer harbor, where the cargo is transferred to larger vessels.
Source: portalportuario
