Vale Copper and Nickel Earnings Jump 61%

BRAZIL · MINING

Vale‘s copper and nickel unit lifted its adjusted EBITDA by 61% to US$1.105 billion in the third quarter of 2026, the company said on Thursday 29 October. That is about 42% of what the larger iron ore unit earned, which fell 34% to US$2.633 billion, and it shows where the miner’s growth now sits.

The group profit, which fell 53% to US$1.255 billion, is covered in the earlier report on Vale third-quarter profit, and this report follows the copper and nickel unit behind the partial offset. More on Brazil’s mining and companies is on the Brazil news page.

Copper Powers the Gain

Copper EBITDA rose 66% to US$1.021 billion, helped by a realized copper price of US$15,314 a metric ton, about US$6.95 a pound, which was 56% above a year earlier and 9% above the average price on the London Metal Exchange. The exchange average itself rose 44% to US$14,104 a metric ton, about US$6.40 a pound.

Higher copper prices added US$385 million to copper EBITDA and higher by-product prices added US$80 million, while the rebuild of the Sossego mill cost US$40 million and the stronger real cost US$19 million. The Salobo mine in Brazil supplied US$938 million of the total, up 93%, after producing 57.6 thousand metric tons, its best third quarter.

Copper Costs Turn Negative

Vale’s all-in copper cost was minus US$175 a metric ton, because revenue from gold, silver and other by-products was larger than the cost of mining the copper. A year earlier the same measure was a positive US$994 a metric ton, and the release credits higher by-product revenue and the recovery of tax credits at Salobo.

The unit production cost was US$6,721 a metric ton, up 8%, as the Sossego rebuild added US$576 a metric ton and the stronger real added US$258 a metric ton. Higher output at Salobo spread fixed costs and took US$295 a metric ton off the cost.

Nickel Earnings Slip on Feed Costs

Nickel EBITDA fell 14% to US$98 million, hit by US$109 million of higher costs for own-sourced feed, US$69 million from higher prices for outside feed and US$33 million of planned maintenance. Higher realized prices, up 9% from a year earlier to US$16,898 a metric ton, and US$125 million more from by-products offset part of the damage.

Output rose 6% to 49.7 thousand metric tons, with the Sudbury refinery in Ontario reaching its highest quarterly production since the fourth quarter of 2013 and Onça Puma in Brazil posting its best third quarter. Nine-month nickel EBITDA is still US$669 million, up 88% from US$356 million a year earlier.

Projects and Asset Sales Reshape the Unit

Vale completed the Thompson Mine Complex transaction in October, making Exiro Nickel the new owner and operator while Vale Base Metals kept an 18.9% interest and a multi-year nickel concentrate offtake agreement. The Sossego mill rebuild began in August and is expected to finish in the second half of November, with a mobile crushing system keeping the plant running in the meantime.

The Salobo Coarse Particle Flotation project advanced to execution in August, is 17% complete and is expected to add up to about 30 thousand metric tons of copper a year, with start-up expected in the first half of 2028, about a year ahead of schedule. It supports the unit’s ambition of 420 to 500 thousand metric tons a year by 2030, and the earlier pull-forward of the expansion is covered in a separate report on the Salobo expansion.

What It Means for You

The unit supplied about 31% of Vale’s nine-month proforma EBITDA of US$11.469 billion against about 18% a year earlier, a share worked out by simple division of the reported figures. Owners of Vale shares are therefore more exposed to copper prices than a year ago, although iron ore still supplied about 75% of the nine-month total.

Vale says it is on track for the upper half of its 2026 ranges of 360 to 380 thousand metric tons of copper and 185 to 200 thousand metric tons of nickel. The release names the real’s earlier rise as a cost drag, and the real has weakened to 5.4212 per US dollar on 30 October from 5.0377 on 23 October, according to the central bank’s PTAX rate.

What Is Not Known

It is not known whether copper prices will stay near the third-quarter average of US$14,104 a metric ton, since the unit’s gain rests mostly on price. It is also not known how quickly nickel feed costs will ease, because the release ties the drop to costlier production from the second quarter moving through inventory.

The effect of the Thompson sale on Vale’s nickel supply is not given in the release beyond the offtake agreement. The release gives no fourth-quarter figure for the unit, although the Sossego rebuild is expected to finish in the second half of November.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Did Vale’s Copper and Nickel Unit Earn?

Vale Base Metals posted adjusted EBITDA of US$1.105 billion in the third quarter, up 61% from a year earlier. Copper contributed US$1.021 billion and nickel US$98 million.

Why Did Vale’s Copper Earnings Jump?

Vale’s realized copper price rose 56% to US$15,314 a metric ton, which added US$385 million to EBITDA. Higher prices for by-products such as gold and silver added another US$80 million.

Where Does Vale Mine Copper and Nickel?

Copper comes mainly from Salobo and Sossego in Brazil, with some output in Canada, and nickel from Canada and Brazil. The Sudbury refinery in Ontario had its best quarter since late 2013.

What Is Vale Doing With the Thompson Mine?

Vale completed the Thompson Mine Complex transaction in October, and Exiro Nickel is the new owner and operator. Vale Base Metals kept an 18.9% interest and a nickel concentrate offtake agreement.

Did Vale’s Overall Profit Rise?

No, Vale’s net income attributable to shareholders fell 53% to US$1.255 billion in the third quarter. Lower iron ore prices and higher costs drove most of the drop.

Sources: Vale S.A., 3Q26 Quarterly Results, Rio de Janeiro, 29 October 2026; Vale S.A., Check out the financial results for Q3 26, 29 October 2026; Central Bank of Brazil, PTAX rate for 30 October 2026; Central Bank of Brazil, PTAX rate for 23 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

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