BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian

miner Vale expects to invest more than $400 million

in research, development and innovation (RD&I) annually in the

coming years, the firm's executive vice president of technical

affairs told Reuters.

In 2023, the company invested $447.8 million in RD&I.

"The idea is to keep it more or less on that scale," Rafael

Bittar said in a Tuesday interview on the sidelines of a mining

congress in Belo Horizonte.

"Maintaining this level of investment, which is a relatively

high one, is what enables us to implement our entire RD&I

strategy to support our future Vale strategy."

The executive acknowledged that the way the company

operates today probably will change over time.

"Things are changing and we have to be able to be prepared

for this future and also anticipate what might happen."

As an example, Bittar said that his technical area has a

road map of what future mining might look like, forecasting

comprehensive use of autonomous equipment, control centers,

minimally invasive techniques and enough subsoil knowledge to

extract only what is needed, with zero waste, rejects and

carbon.

According to Vale data, the firm currently has some 800

people dedicated to innovation in Brazil and 11 RD&I programs,

in addition to six RD&I centers and 12 innovation hubs employing

around 500 people.