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Our Businesses

Transformation. That is the core of our work. Vale transformed the earth’s mineral resources into sustainable development. Through mining, we provide the components for the products that are essential to our everyday lives, such as appliances, electronic equipment, cars, computers and construction materials. Conscious of our responsibilities, Vale acts in a responsible manner by caring for the environment, respecting cultural diversity, and helping develop the communities with whom we interact.

The investment budget for 2010 includes expenditure of US$ 12.9 billion, based on US GAAP principles, dedicated to sustaining existing operations and promoting growth through research and development (R&D) and project implementation.

Next year’s budget represents an increase of 29.3% on the US$ 10 billion invested over the twelve months to 30 June 2009 (this figure does not include the US$ 1.5 billion spent on acquiring copper, coal, potassium and iron ore assets). The investment plan continues to reflect our concern with organic growth as the focal point of growth strategy: 76.6% of the budget is allocated to financing R&D, Greenfield projects (unexplored mineral deposits) and e brownfield projects (near to existing operations), compared with a figure of 71.1% over the last five years.

Taking account of existing assets and those that will come on line in the future, we expect production to continue increasing at a fast pace. Our production index, which includes operational performance for all minerals and metals produced by Vale, is projected to grow at an annual average rate of 12.6% over the 2010-2014 period, even higher than the 11.2% recorded for 2003-2008.

Although iron ore and nickel will remain at the top of our business interests, we plan to boost our production capacity for copper, coal and fertilizers, creating a more diverse portfolio of world class assets. Based on our future projects pipeline, we expect to reach the following production levels in 2014: 450 million metric tons of iron ore, 380,000 metric tons of nickel, 650,000 metric tons of copper, 30 million metric tons of coal, 3.1 million metric tons of potassium and 6.6 million metric tons phosphate rock.

To sharpen our operational competitive edge, we will continue to invest heavily in railways, seaport terminals, shipping and energy generation.

Taking a long-term view of minerals and metals market fundamentals and applying rigorous discipline to the allocation of capital, Vale has invested US$ 59.5 billion (including US$ 23.7 billion spent on acquisitions) over the last five years, creating significant added value for its shareholders. We firmly believe that the global recession has not radically affected market fundamentals and will continue to look for growth and create value through investment in the various organic growth options open to us.