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    com.liferay.portal.kernel.util.DateUtil_IW@9975524
    com.liferay.portal.kernel.util.DateUtil_IW@9975524

    Vale's Production and Sales performance for 1Q24 is now available. 

    The 1Q24 report was released on Tuesday, April 16th.
    Below you can see the main highlights, as well as the full report: 
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    Highlights

    • Vale’s Q1 performance was marked by robust iron ore sales, which increased by 15% y/y, and by consistent improvement in iron ore operations. On copper, Salobo 3 reached ~90% average throughput rate in the quarter. On nickel, Canadian and Indonesian operations delivered stronger performance y/y.
       
    • Iron ore production totaled 70.8 Mt, increasing 6% y/y, driven by S11D’s improved operating performance, continued asset reliability initiatives and higher 3rd party purchases. Pellets production totaled 8.5 Mt, up 2% y/y, driven by higher pellet feed availability. Iron ore sales reached 63.8 Mt in 1Q24, 15% higher y/y. 
       
    • Copper production totaled 81.9 kt, 22% higher y/y, driven by a continued solid ramp-up at Salobo 3, as well as by better operational performance at the Salobo 1 & 2 plants. 
       
    • Nickel production totaled 39.5 kt, decreasing by 4% y/y, mainly reflecting the Onça Puma furnace rebuild, partially offset by stronger performance at the Canadian and Indonesian operations. 

    Download the 1Q24  Production and Sales report

    Check out the results of our main products below:

    • Northern System: S11D’s production is the main positive highlight, up 1.4 Mt y/y. S11D achieved the highest Q1 output since 2020, with continued asset reliability initiatives securing greater operational stability during the rainy season. At Serra Norte, production decreased y/y due to reduced ROM availability, as expected in the mine development plan. Shipments at Ponta da Madeira port improved by 17% y/y as a result of several initiatives to minimize the impact of rainfall, like cargo moisture management and others.
       
    • Southeastern System: output was 1.0 Mt higher y/y, driven by: (i) Brucutu and Timbopeba plants’ solid operational performance and (ii) higher third-party purchases. These effects were partially offset by lower production at Alegria, caused by plant adjustments aiming to increase higher quality ore processing.  
       
    • Southern System: production increased by 2.9 Mt y/y, mainly driven by greater stability at Vargem Grande and Mutuca, with initiatives to minimize rainfall impact bearing fruit and (ii) higher third-party purchases.  
       
    • Pellets: production was 0.1 Mt higher y/y, due to increased pellet feed availability from the Southeastern and Southern System mines, driving higher pellet output in the Tubarão and Vargem Grande plants.  
       
    • Iron ore sales increased by 8.2 Mt y/y, totaling 63.8 Mt. The strong performance was driven by the absence of port loading restrictions that negatively impacted the Ponta da Madeira port in 1Q23. The difference between production and sales is explained by Vale’s supply chain effects and inventories formation driven by cargos transiting to distribution centers.  
       
    • Average realized iron ore fines price was US$ 100.7/t, US$ 17.6/t lower q/q, largely impacted by provisional pricing adjustments due to lower-than-average forward prices on the last day of the quarter. The average realized iron ore pellet price was US$ 171.9/t, US$ 8.5/t higher q/q, as quarterly contract pellet premiums increased, while pellet sales are generally not impacted by provisional pricing adjustments.  
       
    • The all-in premium totaled US$ 2.2/t, slightly higher q/q. Given current market conditions with a lower price spread for low-grade materials, Vale continued to prioritize the sale of blended and high-silica products in Q1, in order to maximize its product portfolio value. 
    • Salobo: copper production increased by 15.6 kt y/y mainly due to the continued ramp-up at Salobo 3, which reached ~90% average throughput in Q1. Salobo 1 & 2 plants also posted strong performance in the quarter, with 14% higher throughput rate, 10% higher productivity and 3% higher asset availability y/y. On a sequential basis, production decreased by 6.8 kt, mainly due to lower feed grades, which was expected as per the mine development plan.  
       
    • Sossego: copper production decreased by 1.0 kt y/y and 9.1 kt q/q due scheduled maintenance shutdown and lower ore grades, as expected. Maintenance works are anticipated to be completed by late April. In January, the SAG mill achieved record results, namely: (i) highest monthly throughput since August 2018, (ii) highest productivity since October 2018 and (iii) highest operational efficiency since December 2020.  
       
    • Canada: copper production was 0.4 kt higher y/y and decreased by 1.1 kt q/q. Copper production was positively impacted by a 1.6 kt increase in production from Canadian mines, especially as result of an 8% y/y increase in own sourced ore production at the Clarabelle mill in Sudbury. The weaker q/q performance was impacted by the winter season at the Thompson site.  
       
    • Payable copper sales totaled 76.8 kt in the quarter, up 14.1 kt y/y and down 20.7 kt q/q, in line with production levels.  
       
    • Average copper realized price was US$ 7,687/t, 3% lower q/q, mainly a result of the impact of purchase price adjustments in Q4. 
    • Sudbury-sourced ore: finished nickel production increased by 0.7 kt y/y and 0.2 kt q/q, as a result of better performance of the Sudbury mines, supported by the ramp-up of the Copper Cliff South mine, which was partially offset by corrective maintenance at the Copper Cliff Refinery.  
       
    • Thompson-sourced ore: finished nickel production was flat y/y and 0.8 kt lower q/q. The q/q decrease was mainly a result of internal inventory rebuild after a strong quarter in 4Q23.
        
    • Voisey’s Bay-sourced ore: finished nickel production was flat y/y and increased by 0.9 kt q/q, driven by the availability of Voisey’s Bay-sourced feedstock at Long Harbour. Contained nickel in ore mined at Voisey’s Bay increased by 55% y/y as the underground mines continued to ramp up.  
       
    • Third-party feed: finished nickel production decreased by 2.1 kt y/y and 3.9 kt q/q, as planned. The consumption of third-party feed is in line with the strategy to maximize the utilization and performance of our downstream operations.  
       
    • Indonesia-sourced material: finished nickel production increased by 4.7 kt y/y, mainly reflecting the robust performance of the Indonesia-Matsusaka-Clydach flowsheet. Production decreased by 1.1 kt q/q as result of planned maintenance at the Matsusaka refinery in March. Nickel in matte production at PTVI was 18.4 kt in the quarter, representing a 1.4 kt increase y/y and a 0.9 kt decrease q/q.
        
    • Onça Puma: nickel production decreased by 4.9 kt y/y and 0.6 kt q/q as operations have been halted since October 2023 for the furnace rebuild. The rebuild works were completed in mid-March. Currently, the electrical furnace is heating up and the plant is on track to resume production in early May.  
       
    • Nickel sales totaled 33.1 kt in the quarter, 6.4 kt lower than quarterly production, mainly due to VBM’s inventory strategy to meet committed sales during planned maintenance at the refineries in Q2.  
       
    • Average nickel realized price was US$ 16,848/t, down 33% y/y and 9% q/q, mainly driven by a 36% and 4% decrease in LME nickel reference prices y/y and q/q, respectively (US$ 16,589/t in 1Q24 vs. US$ 25,983/t in 1Q23 vs. US$ 17,247/t in 4Q23). In the quarter, the average realized nickel price was 1.6% higher than the LME mainly as a result of higher share of Class I products sales, which are sold at a premium to the market reference price. 

    Financial Report 1Q24

    The 1Q24 Financial Report will be released on April 24th. Following the release, our key executives will host a webcast (real-time audio conference call) with analysts and investors on April 25th to discuss the quarter's results