Two decades ago, China’s construction boom turned Vale into the world’s largest iron ore exporter. Now the Brazilian miner is placing the same bet on India. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Brazil affairs and Latin American financial news.
At the India-Brazil Business Forum in New Delhi on Saturday, CEO Gustavo Pimenta said India’s industrialization mirrors China in the early 2000s.
The country produces about 150 million tonnes of steel a year and could surpass 300 million within a decade — growth requiring massive ore imports.
Vale’s Indian footprint is expanding fast. Three years ago, sales were negligible. Last year, the company shipped 10 million tonnes. Pimenta expects India to become one of Vale’s largest markets in the years ahead.
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The pitch is not just volume — it is value. India has plenty of low-grade ore. Vale plans to blend high-grade Brazilian product with local supply at a new hub in the country, giving steelmakers a cleaner feedstock. The company will sign memoranda of understanding for the facility, replicating a model it runs in Malaysia and China.
Pimenta also flagged critical minerals. Brazil holds vast reserves essential to the energy transition, and global demand could require five to six times current capacity.
The timing carries risk — iron ore just posted its worst week in six years on oversupply fears. But Vale is betting that India, the world’s fourth-largest economy growing above 6 percent annually, will outrun the glut. It is a long-term wager that the next China is already here.
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