Vale’s iron ore production fell 21.5% in 2019 due to Brumadinho incident

Vale divulged on Tuesday (11/02) that its iron ore production totaled 301.97 million tons in 2019, a 21.5% drop compared with 2018, caused by disruptions to production after the dam ruptured in Brumadinho (MG). Before the disaster, the company had expected to hit a production target of 400 million tons last year. Now, the company estimates that this goal will only be reached after 2022.

Due to the rupture of the dam in Brumadinho, Vale was forced to interrupt several activities in Minas Gerais, whilst operational safety standards were reviewed. According to the company, the drop in production was exacerbated by stronger than normal adverse climatic conditions in the first half of 2019.

The effect of the disruptions was partially offset by increased production at the S11D mine in Pará, – the largest in the company’s history – a 14-million-ton reduction in inventories, and a gradual resumption of operations in some mines. As a result, iron ore sales in 2019 stood at 269.3 million tons, down 12.8% year-on-year. Pellet sales reached 43.199 million tons, down 23.7% from 2018.

In the fourth quarter, the mining company produced 78.344 million tons of iron ore, down 22.4% compared to the same period in 2018. Sales of the commodity totaled 77.9 million tons in the same time period, representing a drop of only 3.2% year-on-year.

Source: Reuters

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