Brazil-based miner Vale has announced its operational results for the third quarter of this year, reporting iron ore production of 95.11 million mt, rising 3.6 percent compared to the second quarter, mainly due to the ramp-up of the S11D mine and the better operational performance in the Northern System mines. In the given quarter, Vale's pellet production amounted to 12.76 million mt, up 4.5 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Vale’s iron ore production guidance for the current year remains within the 360-380 million mt range and the company has reaffirmed its long-term base case target of 400 million mt of total iron ore production per year.
In the third quarter this year, Vale's nickel production rose by 10.2 percent quarter on quarter to 72,700 mt, mainly due to the Sudbury furnace No. 2 returning to production in July this year, the strong production performance at the Thompson mine and the steady performance at the Onça Puma mine.
Meanwhile, in the given quarter, Vale’s coal production from its Mozambique operations reached 3.2 million mt, increasing by 5.8 percent compared to the previous quarter, as a result of the better performance of the two coal handling preparation plants. Production of metallurgical coal in the same quarter amounted to 1.9 million mt, 9.6 percent lower than the second quarter of this year.