Vale do Aço

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The Vale do Aço is a metropolitan area in Minas Gerais, Brazil, comprising only the four municipalities of Ipatinga, Coronel Fabriciano, Santana do Paraíso and Timóteo, but have an influence area of 22 other municipalities.

The name means Steel Valley in Portuguese. This region is also known as "a Região de Siderurgia" (Ironcasting Region), as it holds a great number of iron and steel processing companies along the course of the Rio Doce. The largest industries of the region are Acesita and Usiminas, both ironcasting. Cenibra, a cellulose factory in the influence area, is also large. The metropolitan area was officially defined in 1998 and has a population of 430,700 (IBGE estimate 2005).