Vallourec, a company whose research center is housed at the UFRJ Science Park, developed a technology that allows the reuse of iron ore mineral wastes, thus turning the construction of dams unnecessary. In 2010, Vallourec started a series of research to eliminate the risks of stability associated with the traditional method of dams and discovered that the use of a tool called filter press could remove the water of the material and allow the drained waste. The dewatering module through filters press started to be operated in Vallourec in the Pau Branco Mine, in Minas Gerais, in November 2015. The company was the first in the world to use filters press for the drained piling of iron ore mineral wastes.
