Vale posts strongest quarterly iron ore output since 2018

The iron ore output in Q3 was 3.8% higher on year and jumped 12.9% from the previous quarter, supported by a new quarterly production record of 23.6 million tonnes at S11D mining project in Northern System and the continued ramp-up of other key projects, the mining company said.

It is worth noting that Vale's pellet output in the past quarter declined by 2.4 million tonnes or 22.8% on year to about 8 million tonnes, which was in line with the company's adjustment to pellet production in response to market conditions. The miner brought forward maintenance at its São Luis pelletizing plant during the quarter, and the plant is not expected to return to operations this year.

The pellet feed, the input for the pelletizing plants, was redirected to iron ore fines sales, and this contributed to higher iron ore sales in total. Vale's iron ore sales in Q3 rose by 5.1% on year and 11.2% on quarter to reach 86 million tonnes, the highest quarterly level since the onset of 2024, the report showed.

The latest quarterly results meant that Vale's iron ore production totaled 245.7 million tonnes during the first nine months of this year, higher by 1.3% compared with the corresponding period of 2024. The strong iron ore production has led Vale to be confident in reaching the upper end of its 2025 production guidance range of 325-335 million tonnes, according to the report.

The average realized price of Vale's iron ore fines was $94.4/wmt in Q3, growing by $9.3/wmt on quarter, but that of pellet fell by $3.3/wmt from Q2 to $130.8/wmt. The mixed price trends were driven by the diverging premiums of the two products, with fines premiums gaining $1.8/t on quarter to reach $0.7/t, while pellets saw lower quarterly premiums. The all-in premium was higher by $1/t from the previous quarter at $2.1/t though, the report noted.

Written by Irene Zhuang, zhuangailing@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com