Brazilian mining company Vale SA is considering expanding its iron mine in the Brazilian state of Para to meet growing demand in China for higher-grade iron ore, Reuters reports.

The news agency quotes Vale Executive Director Peter Poppinga as telling a conference in China that the output of the mine will would grow to nearly 90 million tonnes next year from about 60 million tonnes this year.

The report says China is committed to buying better, less polluting grades of iron ore to reduce air pollution.

Mr Poppinga said Vale would keep its total output of iron ore at about 400 million tonnes, substituting higher-grade ore for low-quality ore.

“We are not after market share,” Reuters quotes Mr Poppinga as saying. “We are after value and not after volume.”