Brazilian mining company Vale, the world’s largest iron ore producer and exporter, increased its production by 21% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter.
On October 17, the company reported raising sales by 7.4% over the previous three months.
In a statement, Vale announced that iron ore production in the third quarter reached 89.7 million tons, while sales reached 69 million tons.
In the first nine months of the year, Vale’s iron sales reached 185.7 million tons, 2.6 percent less than in the same period last year, when 190.6 million tons were sold.
Meanwhile, third-quarter iron ore ball production was down 4.8% compared to the second quarter, at 8.2 million tons, while sales rose 6%.
Nickel output rose 51% in the third quarter, at 51,800 kilotonnes, thanks to the start-up of new refineries, while sales were up 13%.
With information from Xinhua