Vale reduced iron ore production by 3.7% y/y in the first half of 2022

The production of iron ore pellets during this period increased by 9.1% y/y

The largest mining company in Brazil, Vale, in the first half of 2022, reduced the production of iron ore by 3.7% compared to the same period in 2021 – to 137.2 million tons. The company’s website reports about it.

In January-June 2022, the production of iron ore pellets increased by 9.1% compared to the first half of 2021 – up to 14.3 million tons. In the second quarter, 74.1 million tons of iron ore and 8.7 million tons of pellets were produced. On the annual basis, this is 1.2% less and 8.3% more, respectively.

Iron ore sales decreased by 5.8% year-on-year – to 116.7 million tons during January-June of 2022. At the same time, shipments of iron ore pellets increased by 13.9% compared to the same period last year – to 15.85 million tons.

In the second quarter, iron ore sales totaled 64.3 million tons, 2.3% less compared to April-June 2021. Shipments of pellets during this period increased by 15.6% y/y – up to 8.84 million tons.

In January-June 2022, Vale reduced nickel output by 10.3% for the first time of 2021 – to 80.6 thousand tons. The volume of nickel sales in this period also decreased by 17.9% – to 78.3 thousand tons. Copper production fell by 25%, to 150,000 tons, while its sales fell by 30% on the annual basis, to 145,400 tons.

The company notes that iron ore production in the second quarter of 2022 improved compared to the previous quarter due to the dry season.

Vale is one of the three largest mining companies in the world. In 2021, the company increased production of iron ore by 5.1% compared to 2020 – up to 315.6 million tons. Sales of iron ore increased by 8.9% – up to 277.5 million tons.

In 2022, Vale intends to start producing iron ore at the level of 310-320 million tons per year and produce 34-38 million tons of pellets.