Brazilian mining company Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale) has issued its reports on production and financial results for Q3 of 2008, posting one of the best operational performances in its history, with eight records achieved in quarterly production, including iron ore output of 85.9 million mt and pellet output of 12.2 million mt.
Accordingly, the company's Q3 net income surged by 64 percent to US$4.82 billion from the previous level of US$2.94 billion a year earlier, whereas its sales jumped 49 percent to US$12.12 billion year-on-year.
Specifically, Vale's iron ore production in Q3 2008 has been the highest in Vale's history, amounting to 85.9 million mt, up 7.1 percent compared to 80.2 million mt in Q3 2007.
Meanwhile the company's pellet plants had an outstanding performance in Q3 this year, increasing their production compared with Q3 2007. In Q3 2008, 8.1 million mt of blast furnace pellets were produced and 4.1 million mt of direct reduction pellets.
Concerning the global economic downturn, Vale said, "The global financial stress generates opportunities for value creation, thereby facilitating the exploitation of several growth options available to us."