The Brazilian miner Vale said in a statement that its iron ore production has reached 69.675 million metric tons (mt) in Q1 2026, 3 percent more than in Q1 2025, while its pellet production increased by 13.7 percent to 8.169 million mt during the same period.
Increased iron ore output resulted from record production at the S11D and Brucutú mines, as well as ongoing expansion efforts at the Capanema and VGR1 projects.
The higher pellets production reflects the improved production performance of the Tubarão pellet plants.
On the same comparative basis, iron ore sales increased by 3.9 percent to 68.713 million mt, with sales of fines increasing by 4.7 percent to 59.436 million mt, pellets sales increasing by 2.7 percent to 7.699 million mt and run-of-mine ore sales declining by 16.3 percent to 1.578 million mt.
The average sales prices achieved by the company during the period were $85.80/mt for iron ore fines, a 4.4 percent increase, and $133.80/mt for the pellets, down 5 percent from the first quarter of 2025.
The company maintains its production guidance for 2026 in a range of 335 to 345 million mt for iron ore, and 30 to 34 million mt for pellets.