Vale's 2024 iron ore output rises 2% on year

However, during the last quarter of 2024, Vale's iron ore production dropped by 6.3% from the previous quarter to 85.3 million tonnes, which was also 4.6% lower than the corresponding period in 2023.

The miner attributed the sizeable drop to its decision to prioritize production of higher-margin products which resulted in lower output of high-silica ores at Southern System, according to the report. Specifically, Southern System iron ore output during Q4 last year slumped by 40.7% on year to just 11.2 million tonnes, also marking a substantial decline of 33.2% from the previous quarter.

In contrast, iron ore produced at Vale's Northern System during the same quarter increased by 6.3% on year to 51.9 million tonnes, driven by record production at S11D where an "optimized maintenance strategy enabled greater asset reliability and operational stability," the report said.

Meanwhile, iron ore delivered from its Southeastern System in Q4 rose by 2.3% from the prior year to 22.1 million tonnes, the highest quarterly production since 2019 thanks to the commissioning of Brucutu's fourth processing line, the report noted.

In terms of sales, Vale sold 306.7 million tonnes of iron ore during 2024, rising by 1.9% on year, though during the October-December quarter, the firm's iron ore sales slipped by 10.1% on an annual basis to 81.2 million tonnes. The main reason was the reduction in direct sales of high-silica products, the miner explained.

The company's average realized price for iron ore fines in 2024 slid to $95.3/wmt, lower than the $108.1/wmt in 2023, while the average price of iron ore pellets was $154.6/wmt, down from $161.9/wmt in the previous year, both on CFR/FOB basis, according to the report.

Vale's iron ore output target for 2025 is still 325-335 million tonnes, unchanged from its estimate updated two months ago.

Written by Irene Zhuang, zhuangailing@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com