Iron ore output at Brazil’s Vale rose 3 percent in Q3 to 88.2 million mt, from 85.7 million mt a year ago, the company said on Monday, adding both its quarterly and yearlong production volumes have reached new records.
The company’s total output in Q3, including purchases of the product from third party companies, was 90.7 million mt, 2.6 up, year-on-year, and 1.6 percent up quarter-on-quarter.
According to the company, purchases of the commodity from third party companies totaled 2.5 million in Q3, 6.8 percent down year-on-year.
Vale’s pellets production in the third quarter of the year rose 6.6 percent, year-on-year, but declined 0.3 percent, quarter-on-quarter to 12.1 million mt, the company said. Pellets production wasn’t accounted in Vale’s total iron ore output figures.
So far, in the nine-month period from January to September, Vale’s total iron ore production, including purchases of the commodity from other companies, reached 257.4 million mt, 4.9 percent up, year-on-year. Vale’s own production of the commodity in the period totaled 248 million mt, 5 percent up, year-on-year. The volume represents a new nine-month long record for the company, it said.
Vale said manganese output in Q3 declined 1.4 percent, year-on-year, but rose 16.4 percent, quarter-on-quarter to 644,000 mt, while ferroalloys production at its Barbacena and Ouro Branco plants in the state of Minas Gerais reached 21,000 mt, 47.7 percent down, year-on-year, and 31.6 percent down in the quarter-on-quarter analysis. So far in the year, manganese output rose nearly 10 percent, year-on-year, while ferroalloys production declined 38.8 percent, year-on-year.
Vale said ferroalloys production volumes in Q3 were negatively impacted as a result of the halt of production at its ferroalloys plants in Minas Gerais state.