Vale 3Q Iron Ore Output Down 3.9% vs Year Earlier at 86.2 Million Tons

By Jeffrey T. Lewis

SÃO PAULO--Brazilian mining giant Vale said output of iron ore declined in the third quarter from a year earlier due to an equipment failure at one of its operations and a temporary stoppage for maintenance at another.

Iron ore output fell 3.9% in the third quarter from the same period a year earlier to 86.2 million metric tons and rose 9.5% from the second quarter of this year, Vale said Tuesday in its quarterly production report. Production of iron ore pellets, a premium product, rose 11% in the third quarter from a year earlier to 9.2 million metric tons, and rose 0.7% from the second quarter.

Sales of iron ore rose 6.6% in the third quarter from a year earlier to 69.7 million tons and rose 10% from the second quarter. Sales of pellets rose 1.1% from the third quarter of 2022 to 8.6 million tons and fell 2.2% from the second quarter.

Output at Vale's Northern System operations declined 1.5 million tons from a year earlier after the one-time failure of a conveyor belt system, and production from the Southern System operation fell by 2.6 million tons following a maintenance stoppage of a tailings pipeline, Vale said.

The average realized price the company received for its iron ore rose 14% in the third quarter from a year earlier to $105.1 per ton, while the average realized price for iron ore pellets declined 17% in the same period to $161.2.

Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 17, 2023 18:55 ET (22:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.