Vale increased ore production by 1% y/y in Q2

At the same time, production of round bars fell by 7% y/y over the same period

The Brazilian mining company Vale has published its report for the second quarter of 2026. Iron ore production reached 84.3 million tonnes (including 76 million tonnes of ore mined by the company itself), which is 1% (0.7 million tonnes) higher than in the same period last year. This is stated in the company’s report.

The growth was driven by record production volumes at the S11D and Brucutú deposits, as well as additional volumes generated by the expansion of the Capanema and VGR1 projects.

At the same time, pellet production for the reporting period fell by 7% year-on-year – to 7.3 million tonnes. This decline was due to the temporary suspension of operations at the company’s facilities in Oman during part of the second quarter.

Total iron ore sales rose by 3% (2.4 million tonnes) compared with the second quarter of 2025, reaching 79.7 million tonnes, driven by both increased production volumes and the sale of stock. Breakdown of sales:

• Sales of fines rose by 3.4% – to 70 million tonnes.
• Sales of pellets increased by 3.5% – to 7.7 million tonnes.
• Sales of run-of-mine ore fell by 6% – to 2 million tonnes.

The average selling price of fine iron ore in the second quarter rose by 11.6% to $95 per tonne. The price of pellets increased by 2.2% compared with the same period in 2025, reaching $137 per tonne.

Vale has left its indicative forecast for 2026 unchanged: annual iron ore production is expected to be in the range of 335–345 million tonnes, whilst pellet production is forecast at 30–34 million tonnes.

It should be noted that, for 2025, Vale increased its iron ore production by 2.6% year-on-year – to 336 million tonnes, the highest annual volume since 2018. Pellet production for the period fell by 15% year-on-year – to 31.35 million tonnes. Ore sales last year totalled 314.35 million tonnes, up 2.5% year-on-year.