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Vale's Production and Sales report for 2Q24 is now available. 

The 2Q24 report was released this Tuesday, July 16th. Below are the key highlights and the full report.
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Fotógrafo: Ricardo Teles

Highlights

  • Vale’s Q2 performance was marked by a significant 7.3% y/y increase in iron ore sales and consistent performance at S11D, achieving record production for a second quarter. On copper, Salobo production increased 8% y/y. On nickel, production sourced from Voisey’s Bay increased 41% y/y on the back of VBME ramp-up.  

  • Iron ore production reached 80.6 Mt in Q2, 1.9 Mt higher y/y, supported by a robust performance at S11D and Vargem Grande. This quarter’s performance reinforces our confidence in achieving the upper end of the 2024 production guidance. Pellets production totaled 8.9 Mt, slightly lower y/y. Iron ore sales reached 79.8 Mt, 5.4 Mt (+7.3%) higher y/y. 

  • Copper production totaled 78.6 kt, flat y/y, as a better performance at the Salobo 1&2 and Sossego plants was offset by the bi-annual maintenance in Sudbury. 

  • Nickel production totaled 27.9 kt, 24% lower y/y, mainly reflecting the planned maintenance strategy at the nickel processing plants. 

Check out the results of our key products below

  • Northern System: S11D achieved record production for a second quarter at 19.5 Mt, 0.4 Mt higher y/y, as a result of the ongoing asset reliability initiatives, which are ensuring greater operational stability. At Serra Norte, the lower production y/y was in line with the mine development plan. 

  • Southeastern System: output was 0.6 Mt lower y/y, driven by: (i) greater share of high-quality ore production in Brucutu, after the conversion of the plant to wet processing last year (with the Torto dam commissioning) and consequent higher mass loss in the process and (ii) planned maintenance of Conceição I plant at the Itabira Complex. These effects were partially offset by higher third-party purchases. 

  • Southern System: production increased by 3.0 Mt y/y, mainly driven by: (i) solid operational performance at the Vargem Grande Complex and (ii) improved performance at the Paraopeba Complex, especially at the Viga plant, considering maintenance carried out in 2Q23. 

  • Pellets: production was slightly lower, down 0.2 Mt y/y, driven by lower pellet feed availability at the Vargem Grande plant and maintenance at the São Luis plant.  

  • Iron ore sales increased by 5.4 Mt y/y, totaling 79.8 Mt. The robust sales performance in the quarter was supported by strong shipments, as well as by the sale of inventories from previous periods. Sales of high-silica products in the product mix continued to increase as per our tactical value creation strategy, considering market conditions. 

  • The all-in premium totaled US$ -0.1/t¹, US$ 2.3/t lower q/q, as a result of the increase of high-silica product sales. In the 2H24, Vale expects a larger share of premium products (e.g. IOCJ and BRBF) in the sales mix, due to higher production from the Northern System, potentially supporting all-in premiums. 

  • The average realized iron ore fines price was US$ 98.2/t, US$ 2.5/t lower q/q, largely impacted by lower iron ore prices and lower quality premiums, which were partially offset by the positive effect of pricing mechanisms. The average realized iron ore pellet price was US$ 157.2/t, US$ 14.7/t lower q/q, due to lower iron ore prices.  

  • Salobo: copper production increased by 3.3 kt y/y mainly as a result of increased plant productivity at Salobo 1&2. Sequential production decreased by 2.4 kt, mainly due to the fire that damaged the conveyor belt at Salobo 3 in June. The repair works are ongoing, and the Salobo 3 plant is expected to resume in August. 

  • Sossego: copper production increased by 0.3 kt y/y mainly because of higher head grades at the mill. In the quarter, the Sossego mining operations were halted with the temporary suspension of the operational license. The license was reinstated, and the mining operations resumed on June 28th. 

  • Canada: copper production decreased by 3.8 kt y/y, as a result of the scheduled bi-annual Smelter and Refinery maintenance period and subsequent extended ramp-up. This was partially offset by gains from higher-grade copper at Voisey’s Bay and will be further mitigated in Q3, as planned maintenance at the Clarabelle mill was in part advanced into Q2. 

  • Payable copper sales² totaled 76.1 kt in the quarter, up 2.3 kt y/y, as lower production was offset by inventory sales. 

  • The average copper realized price was US$ 9,202/t, 20% higher q/q, mainly due to higher LME prices. 

  • Sudbury-sourced ore: finished nickel production decreased by 7.0 kt y/y, impacted by the planned biannual maintenance and subsequent ramp-up, which took an additional two weeks to complete. The operations were re-established on June 11th, and no additional impact is expected in Q3. Sudbury mines performed well in the quarter with a 6% increase in ore production y/y. 

  • Thompson-sourced ore: finished nickel production was 0.5 kt lower y/y, mainly because the Thompson material is being processed entirely at Long Harbour, whereas last year the material was processed at both Long Harbour and Sudbury. 

  • Voisey’s Bay-sourced ore: finished nickel production increased by 0.7 kt y/y, driven by the availability of Voisey’s Bay-sourced feed at Long Harbour. Contained nickel in ore mined at Voisey’s Bay increased by 42% y/y as the underground mines continued to ramp up. 

  • Third-party feed: finished nickel production decreased by 2.4 kt y/y, as planned. The consumption of third-party feed is in line with the strategy to maximize the utilization and performance of our downstream operations. 

  • Indonesia-sourced material: finished nickel production increased by 3.0 kt y/y, mainly reflecting the robust performance of the Indonesia-Matsusaka-Clydach flowsheet. Nickel in matte production at PTVI was 16.6 kt in the quarter, representing a 0.3 kt decrease y/y, as PTVI conducted planned maintenance at the kiln and furnace in Q2. 

  • Onça Puma: nickel production decreased by 2.7 kt y/y, impacted by the furnace rebuild works that began in 4Q23. The rebuild concluded and the first metal production occurred in mid-May. 

  • Nickel sales totaled 34.3 kt in the quarter, 6.0 kt lower y/y. The y/y decrease was in line with lower production levels. In the quarter, nickel sales were 6.4 kt higher than production as a result of the sales of inventories built in Q1, as planned. 

  • The average nickel realized price was US$ 18,638/t, up 11% q/q, in line with the variations in LME reference nickel prices. 

Vale's Performance in 2Q24

The 2Q24 financial statements will be released on July 25th. Following the release, our executives will host a webcast (real-time audio teleconference) with analysts and investors on July 26th to discuss 2Q24 earnings.