The endless reserves of high-quality iron ore around the town of Itabira (state of Minas Gerais) were a good reason to connect it to the main railway line stretching between the centres of Vitória and Belo Horizonte.

The Itabira Iron Ore Company Ltd. founded by Sir Ernest Cassel in 1911 started the first mining operations soon after.

The company was nationalized iin 1942 forming the ´Companhia Vale do Rio Duce´,the largest producer of ore and nickel in the world today.

The decission to build the first charcoal blast furnaces to produce pig iron ore was made in 1984.

In 2017 the plant was taken over by the newly established company "Usina Siderúrgica Atlas", which completely revamped the blast furnace and continues with the pig iron production today.