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    com.liferay.portal.kernel.util.DateUtil_IW@5f8939bd
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    Vale's Sales and Production performance for 3Q23 is now available.

    The 3Q23 report was released on Tuesday, October 17th.
    Below you can see the main highlights, as well as the full report: 
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    Highlights

    • Iron ore production decreased by 4% y/y, mainly due to lower run-of-mine production from the Paraopeba complex and lower output from Serra Norte. The overall quality has improved with iron content increasing 87 bps y/y. This is a result of higher production at S11D and higher pellet feed output from Brucutu with the commissioning of the Torto dam, boosting pellet production by 11% y/y. 
       
    • Iron ore fines and pellet sales increased by 6% y/y, benefiting from favorable market conditions. 
       
    • Copper production increased by 10% y/y, mostly due to the continued ramp-up of Salobo III with the Salobo complex reaching, in September, the highest monthly production level since July 2019. Considering performance to date and the expected volume for Q4, we are now forecasting a full year production of 315-325 kt. Copper sales increased by 8% y/y, following higher production volumes. 
       
    • Nickel production decreased by 19% y/y, in line with plan, mainly due to the continued transitioning of Voisey’s Bay to underground operations and additional maintenance at the Sudbury refinery in Q3. Nickel sales decreased by 12% y/y, in line with production. 

    Download the 3Q23 Sales and Production report

    Check out the results of our main products below:

    • Finished nickel production from Sudbury sourced ore decreased by 4.1 kt y/y, caused by unplanned maintenance at the Sudbury refinery and an extended planned maintenance at Creighton mine. Sudbury ore production up 16% y/y year-to-date, in line with increased mine development.  
       

    • Finished nickel production from Thompson sourced ore decreased by 1.4 kt y/y, driven by annual planned maintenance activities at Long Harbour that were finalized in early Q3. 
       

    • Finished nickel production from Voisey’s Bay sourced ore decreased by 1.2 kt y/y as result of the maintenance period at the Long Harbour Refinery and the ongoing planned transition period between the depletion of the openpit Ovoid mine and the ramp-up of the underground VBME project. The transition to underground mining continues to progress according to plan, with VBME ore production increasing 53% y/y and 43% q/q. 
       

    • Finished nickel produced from third-party sources increased by 0.1 kt y/y. Consumption of third-party feed increased as planned and in line with the strategy to maximize the utilization and performance of our downstream operations. 
       

    • Finished nickel production from Indonesia sourced material decreased by 2.1 kt y/y as the Clydach refinery was ramping up after the Q2 planned maintenance and was impacted by the regional water supply outage in July. Nickel-in-matte production reached 18.0 kt in 3Q23 at PTVI, benefiting from the improved mine grade and furnace performance. 
       

    • Onça Puma production decreased by 1.0 kt y/y as the furnace is operating at a lower rate in preparation for the furnace rebuild, which started in the second week of October and will continue up to the end of 1Q24. 
       

    • Nickel sales decreased by 5.1 kt y/y due to lower production volumes. Quarter on quarter, nickel sales were 1.1 kt lower, mainly due to inventories of ferronickel from Onça Puma, which were held to comply with sales commitments in 4Q23 during the furnace rebuild. 
       

    • The average nickel realized price was US$ 21,237/t, a 2% decrease y/y, mainly due to a 7% decrease in LME nickel reference prices (US$ 20,344/t in 3Q23 vs. US$ 22,063/t in 3Q22), mostly offset by the positive effect from hedging results and higher average premiums for Class I products. 

    • Northern System production decreased by 1.5 Mt y/y, due to a one-time failure in the conveyor belt system at S11D in August, with an impact of approximately 2 Mt. Despite this one-time event, S11D’s output was 0.4 Mt higher y/y, as a result of consistent improvement in leading performance indicators including record mine movement in September. Serra Norte’s performance was in line with the production plan for the quarter. 
       

    • The Southeastern System product mix improved after the Torto dam start-up, and output increased by 0.6 Mt y/y, driven by higher third-party purchases. Torto dam commissioning at Brucutu was concluded, increasing the supply of pellet feed and replacing high-silica products. The full benefit is expected to be captured from 4Q23 onwards.
       

    • Southern System production decreased by 2.6 Mt y/y mainly due to lower run-of-mine production and sales from the Paraopeba Complex, and a temporary stoppage at the Viga operations due to one-off maintenance of the tailings pipeline.
       

    • Pellet production increased by 0.9 Mt y/y, driven by an increase in pellet feed supply from Brucutu and Itabira. In August, Vale started the commissioning tests of the first of two iron ore briquette plants in Tubarão. After ramping-up, the combined capacity will reach 6 Mtpy. 
       

    • Iron ore fines and pellet sales increased by 4.4 Mt y/y, with the sale of inventories from the first semester and taking advantage of favorable market conditions. The all-in premium totaled US$ 3.8/t, US$ 2.8/t lower y/y, mainly due to lower pellet premiums. Quarter on quarter, the all-in premium was slightly lower, driven by lower market premiums as steel mills have been favoring lower-grade fines due to the decline in steel margins. This was partially offset by a superior product portfolio sales mix, with a larger share of Northern System volumes. 
       

    • The average realized iron ore fines price was US$ 105.1/t, US$ 12.5/t higher y/y, largely attributed to higher benchmark iron ore prices (US$ 10.7/t higher y/y), and a positive impact from pricing adjustments (US$ 2.1/t higher y/y). The average realized iron ore pellets price was US$ 161.2/t, US$ 33.1/t lower y/y, mainly due to lower quarterly pellet premiums, partially offset by higher benchmark iron ore prices. 

    • Salobo copper production increased by 14.9 kt y/y, driven by the ongoing ramp-up of Salobo III and the increase in copper recoveries at the Salobo complex by 4% y/y, attributed to better asset conditions and operational stability at Salobo I and II plants. The increase in production was partially offset by maintenance at the Salobo I and II plants. 
       

    • Sossego copper production decreased by 1.6 kt y/y due to lower copper grades despite an increase of 17% y/y in the ore process. Production increased by 2.1 kt q/q following maintenance performed in 2Q23. In 4Q23, copper feed grades at the mill are expected to improve as the mine transitions to a higher-grade zone. 
       

    • Copper production in Canada decreased by 6.0 kt y/y. The decrease is largely explained by the additional mine support required from the mining method at Coleman, the ongoing planned mine transition at Voisey’s Bay, and the lower production of Thompson copper precipitate. The 6.2 kt decrease q/q was mainly due to the annual planned maintenance activities at Sudbury and Thompson mines and mills. 
       

    • While year-to-date production performance remains strong, up 22% y/y, the production guidance for 2023 has been revised down by around 15 kt to a new range of 315-325 kt due to changes to the mining method at Coleman and additional maintenance at Salobo mine and Salobo I and II plants. 
       

    • Copper sales increased by 3.3 kt y/y, mainly due to improved copper production in the same period. This increase was partially offset by the postponement of one shipment of copper concentrates from 3Q23 to 4Q23 in Brazil. 
       

    • The average copper realized price was US$ 7,731/t, up 16% y/y, mainly due to an 8% increase in the LME copper reference price (US$ 8,356/t in 3Q23 vs. US$ 7,745/t in 3Q22) and the lower impact of provisional price adjustments in 3Q23 compared to 3Q22. 

    Financial Report 3Q23

    The 3Q23 Financial Report will be released on October 26th. Following the release, our key executives will host a webcast (real-time audio conference call) with analysts and investors on October 27th to discuss the quarter's results