Brazil-based miner Vale has announced its operational results for the first quarter of this year, reporting iron ore production of 77.5 million mt, rising 0.2 percent year on year. In the given period, Vale's pellet production, excluding Samarco’s attributable production, amounted to 11.47 million mt, up 0.8 percent compared to the same quarter of 2015.
In the first quarter this year, Vale's nickel production increased by 6.2 percent year on year to 73,500 mt, achieving a quarterly record, mainly due to the operational performance of Sudbury and the record production at Vale New Caledonia (VNC).
Meanwhile, in the given quarter, Vale’s coal production reached 1.7 million mt, decreasing by 1.9 percent compared to the first quarter of 2015. Production of metallurgical coal amounted to 1.36 million mt, 7.7 percent higher than the same period of the previous year, due to excellent operational performance at the Carborough Downs mine in Australia.