Brazilian mining giant Vale produced 67.7 million metric tons of iron ore in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 4.5% decline compared to the same period last year, according to the company’s sales and output report released on Tuesday.
Vale, one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, attributed the dip in production to heavy rainfall that affected operations at its Brazilian Northern mining complex. Despite the decrease in output, the company had already anticipated the weaker first-quarter results and maintained its annual production forecast of between 325 million and 335 million tons of iron ore for 2025. This projection includes the ongoing ramp-up of its VGR1 and Capanema mining projects.
Sales of iron ore saw a modest increase of 3.6% year-on-year, reaching 66.1 million tons. Vale explained that the rise in sales was largely driven by supply from inventories, coupled with a strategic focus on medium-grade iron ore products, given current market conditions.
However, the average realized price for Vale’s iron ore fines fell to $90.80 per ton for the quarter ending in March, reflecting a nearly 10% drop from the same period in 2024, as well as a 2.4% decline compared to the final quarter of 2024.
Analysts at Citi noted that Vale’s iron ore output and sales largely met expectations, though copper and nickel production surpassed their forecasts. “We anticipate only minor downgrades to consensus EBITDA estimates,” said analysts Alexander Hacking and Stefan Weskott, adding that they expect Vale’s stock to perform in line with market trends following the report.
In other key developments, Vale reported a significant increase in its copper and nickel output. Copper production surged 11% year-on-year to approximately 90,900 tons, bolstered by strong performances at the Voisey’s Bay mine in Canada and operations in Brazil’s Salobo and Sossego mines. Copper sales also grew by 6.6%, reaching about 81,900 tons.
Nickel production also rose 11% from a year earlier, totaling around 43,900 tons. This increase was primarily driven by higher output at Vale’s Onca Puma mine in Brazil and improved performance at its Canadian assets. Nickel sales saw a notable 17.5% jump, totaling 38,900 tons in the quarter.
Vale is scheduled to release its full first-quarter earnings report on April 24.
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