Brazilian miner Vale said in a statement that its iron ore production has reached 75.971 million metric tons (mt) in Q2 2026, 0.8 percent more than in Q2 2025, while its pellet production declined by 7 percent to 7.303 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 lower pellets production reflects the temporary stoppage of production at the Oman plant, during part of the second quarter.
On the same comparative basis, iron ore sales increased by 3.1 percent to 79.747 million mt, with sales of fines increasing by 3.4 percent to 69.946 million mt, pellets sales increasing by 3.5 percent to 7.748 million mt and run-of-mine ore sales declining by 6 percent to 2.053 million mt.
The average sales prices achieved by the company during the period were $95/mt for iron ore fines, an 11.6 percent increase, and $137/mt for the pellets, 2.2 percent higher than the second quarter of 2025.
For 2026, the company kept its production guidance at a range of 335 million mt to 345 million mt of iron ore and 30 million mt to 34 million mt of pellets.
