4Q19 Production Report

Business

4Q19 Production Report

Vale´s Production Report for the fourth quarter of 2019 (4Q19) was announced on Tuesday, February 11th. Vale ended 2019 with the steady commitment to resume and stabilize production, while implementing the highest safety standards across its operations.

Sales volumes of iron ore fines and pellets reached 312.5 Mt in 2019, in line with the annual guidance of 307-312 Mt.

Vale's iron ore fines production in 2019 totalled 302.0 Mt, 21.5% lower than in 2018, while pellets production was 41.8 Mt in 2019, 24.4% lower than in 2018. The operational disruption which followed the Dam I rupture, with interdictions at the Vargem Grande, Fábrica, Brucutu, Timbopeba and Alegria operations, together with the stronger than usual weather-related seasonality in 1H19, caused major impacts in production, partly offset by the S11D ramp-up, inventory drawdowns, and the gradual resumption of the Vargem Grande, Brucutu and Alegria operations.

On a quarterly basis, Vale's iron ore fines1 and pellets sales amounted to 88.9 Mt in 4Q19, 4.4% higher than the previous quarter and higher than production. The share of premium products totalled 87% in 4Q19.

Despite the combined impacts on production, Vale's iron ore fines production guidance in 2020 is kept at 340-355 Mt.

Download 4Q19 Production Report

See highlights of some of our businesses:

Iron ore

  • Sales volumes of iron ore fines and pellets reached 312.5 Mt in 2019, in line with the annual guidance of 307-312 Mt.
  • In 4Q19, Vale's iron ore fines and pellets sales amounted to 88.9 Mt, 4.4% higher than the 3Q19.
  • Vale's iron ore fines production totalled 302.0 Mt, 21.5% lower than in 2018. Vale's pellets production was 41.8 Mt in 2019, 24.4% lower than in 2018.
Find out more about our iron ore and pellet activities

Nickel

  • Production of finished nickel reached 208 kt in 2019, in line with the annual guidance of 210-220 kt, and 15.0% lower than 2018.
  • Production reflected lower feed from third parties, lower source ore from Thompson and VNC, lower production from Onça Puma prior to receiving judicial authorisation to resume both mine and processing activities, and the maintenance shutdowns at the North Atlantic refineries, which have been resumed.
  • The refining activities in VNC will cease from April 2020 onwards, as part of the process to improve short-term cash flow.
Find out more about our nickel activities

Copper

  • Production of finished copper reached 381.1 kt in 2019, in line with the annual guidance of 382– 386 kt, and slightly lower than in 2018.
  • Copper production reached 90.3 kt in 4Q19, 8.5% lower than 3Q19 and 17.8% lower than 4Q18.
  • Copper sales in 2019 were 365.2 kt, 3.6% lower than in 2018, also due to lower production volumes during the year, more specifically in the South Atlantic operations.
Find out more about our copper activities

Coal

  • Coal production totalled 1.9 Mt in 4Q19 and 8.8 Mt in 2019, reflecting the impacts of lower productivity at the processing plants throughout the year.
  • Vale reviewed its business plan in 2019 and has been implementing a new mining plan and a new operational strategy for the processing plants.
  • As a result of the ongoing implementation of these structural changes, coal production guidance is expected to range between 8 Mt and 10 Mt in 2020.
Find out more about our coal activities

4Q19 Financial Report

The 4Q19 financial report will be released on February 20th. On February 21st, some of our key executives will participate in webcasts in portuguese and in english with investors to present the quarter’s results. Click here to learn more about webcasts.