By Andre Romani and Marta Nogueira
RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian miner Vale reported on Tuesday its highest quarterly iron ore production since 2018, and said it is on track to reach the upper band of its 2025 production target for its three main businesses.
Vale, one of the world's largest iron ore miners, produced 94.4 million metric tons of the steelmaking material in the third quarter, a 3.8% increase year-on-year and the highest since the last three months of 2018.
Vale said the
performance was boosted by record production for any third quarter in its S11D mining project in northern Brazil and the ramp-up of other projects.
The company estimated iron ore output of 325 million to 335 million tons in 2025. In the first nine months of the year, production totaled 245.7 million tons.
Vale said its iron ore, copper and nickel businesses "are tracking towards the upper end of the 2025 production guidance ranges," according to its sales and output report.
The firm's sales of iron ore, including pellets, rose 5.1% year-on-year to 86 million tons in the quarter, as realized prices of iron ore fines increased 4.2% to $94.4 per ton.
Citi analysts led by Alexander Hacking said Vale's results were "solid", and should lead to a "small positive reaction" in its shares.
"There were no changes to guidance and these results leave the company well on track for at least the midpoint," they wrote.
Vale's copper production came in at 90,800 tons, a 5.7% increase, with the miner citing consistent production in its Brazilian Salobo project and higher concentrate volumes from Canadian assets.
Nickel production slipped 0.6% in the period to about 46,800 tons, as maintenance at the Copper Cliff refinery offset record output at the Long Harbour refinery, both in Canada.
Vale is set to release full second-quarter earnings on October 30.
(Reporting by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo and Marta Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro, Editing by Natalia Siniawski, Richard Chang and Sonali Paul)
