Brazil-based miner Vale has announced its operational results for the second quarter and the first half of the current year, reporting iron ore production of 67.6 million mt in the second quarter, rising by 13.4 percent compared to the previous quarter and up 5.5 percent year on year. In the second quarter, Vale’s manganese ore production declined by 59 percent quarter on quarter and down by 53.1 percent year on year to 149,000 mt. Vale stated that the second quarter production faced some impacts caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, the company noted that operational performance improved towards the end of the second quarter amid the end of the rainy season despite impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and operational challenges faced in the given period. In the first half of the year, the company produced 127.2 million mt iron ore and 512,000 mt manganese ore, decreasing by 7.1 percent and 25 percent year on year, respectively. Vale’s iron ore fines production guidance for 2020 remained stable at 310-330 million mt, while the lower end of the guidance is the most likely scenario, SteelOrbis understands.
In the first half of this year, Vale's pellet production totaled 14 million mt, decreasing by 34.1 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, while its nickel production rose by 12.8 percent year on year to 112,600 mt. Meanwhile, in the given period, Vale’s metallurgical coal production amounted to 1.68 million mt, decreasing by 23.2 percent year on year.
Vale said its iron ore and manganese ore sales volumes in the first half of this year fell by 9.4 percent and up by 42.2 percent year on year, to 106.27 million mt and 489,000 mt, respectively while pellet sales in the same period totaled 14.26 million mt, down by 32.6 percent, on year-on-year basis. In the given period, the company sold 86,500 mt of nickel, falling by 34.2 percent and 19.7 percent year on year, respectively.