The company reported that Brazil’s Vale, the world’s largest iron ore producer, and exporter, produced 66.8 million tons of iron ore in the first quarter, 5.8 percent more than in the same quarter of 2022.
In a statement, Vale attributed the improved result to the better performance of the critical S11D mine in Pará (north) and better weather conditions in Minas Gerais (southeast).
Pellet production, on the other hand, increased by 20 percent compared to the first quarter of last year, with 8.3 million tons, driven by greater availability of pellet inputs and lower maintenance activities.
Meanwhile, finished nickel production was 41,000 tons, down 13.5 percent from Q4 2022 and 10.5 percent from a year ago.
Copper production was 67,000 tons in the first quarter, up 18.4 percent from a year ago and 1.1 percent in the quarterly comparison.
Sales volume of iron ore fines and pellets amounted to 45.9 million tons in the first quarter of this year, 10.6 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2022 and 43.5 percent below the fourth quarter of 2022.
According to the miner, the decline is due to shipping restrictions in the Northern System during the rainy period and the rebalancing of value chains following solid sales in the fourth quarter of last year.
Pellets sales were 8.1 million tons from January to March 2023, down 7.5 percent from the previous quarter and up 16 percent from the first quarter of 2022.
On the other hand, copper sales amounted to 62.7 thousand tons between January and March, 24.7 percent more than a year ago and 12.4 percent less than in December.