Vale's production and sales in 1Q24

Rio de Janeiro, April 16th, 2024

  • 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.

Production summary

000' metric tons

1Q24

4Q23

∆ q/q

1Q23

∆ y/y

2024 guidance

Iron ore1

70,837

89,397

-20.8%

66,774

6.1%

310-320 Mt

Pellets

8,467

9,851

-14.0%

8,318

1.8%

38-42 Mt2

Copper

81.9

99.1

-17.4%

67.0

22.2%

320-355 kt

Nickel

39.5

44.9

-12.0%

41.0

-3.7%

160-175 kt

  1. Including third-party purchases, run-of-mine and feed for pelletizing plants.
  2. Iron ore agglomerates guidance, including iron ore pellets and briquettes.

Sales summary

000' metric tons

1Q24

4Q23

∆ q/q

1Q23

∆ y/y

Iron ore

63,826

90,328

-29.3%

55,659

14.7%

Fines1

52,546

77,885

-32.5%

45,861

14.6%

Pellets

9,225

10,285

-10.3%

8,133

13.4%

ROM

2,056

2,158

-4.7%

1,665

23.5%

Copper

76.8

97.5

-21.2%

62.7

22.5%

Nickel

33.1

47.9

-30.9%

40.1

-17.5%

1 Including third-party purchases.

Price realization summary

US$/t

1Q24

4Q23

∆ q/q

1Q23

∆ y/y

Iron ore fines (CFR/FOB, wmt)

100.7

118.3

-14.9%

108.6

-7.3%

Iron ore pellets (CFR/FOB, wmt)

171.9

163.4

5.2%

162.5

5.8%

Copper1

7,687

7,941

-3.2%

9,465

-18.8%

Nickel

16,848

18,420

-8.5%

25,260

-33.3%

1 Average realized price for copper operations only (Salobo and Sossego). Average realized copper price for all operations, inc luding copper sales originated from nickel operations, was US$ 7,632/t in 1Q24.

1

Business highlights in 1Q24

Iron Ore and Pellets operations

Northern System: S11D's production is the main positive

Iron ore production, Mt (1Q24 vs. 1Q23)

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-partypurchases.

Average rainfall1, mm (1Q24 vs. 1Q23)

1 Average from the mining complexes and ports in each System.

Iron ore production-to-sales, Mt (1Q24)

  • 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-inpremium totaled US$ 2.2/t1, 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.

1 Iron ore fines premium of US$ -1.6/t and the weighted average contribution of the pellet business of US$ 3.8/t. 2

Copper operations

Salobo: copper production increased by 15.6 kt y/y mainly due to

Copper production, kt (1Q24 vs. 1Q23)

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 sales2 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.

2 Sales volumes are lower than production volumes due to payable copper vs. contained copper: part of the copper contained in the concentrates is lost in the smelting and refining process, hence payable quantities of copper are approximately 3.5% lower than contained volumes.

3

Nickel operations

Sudbury-sourced ore: finished nickel production

Nickel production, kt (1Q24 vs. 1Q23)

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-upof the Copper Cliff South mine, which was partially offset by corrective maintenance at the Copper Cliff Refinery.

  • Thompson-sourcedore: 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-sourcedfeedstock 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-partyfeed: finished nickel production decreased by 2.1 kt y/y and 3.9 kt q/q, as planned. The consumption of third-partyfeed is in line with the strategy to maximize the utilization and performance of our downstream operations.
  • Indonesia-sourcedmaterial: finished nickel production increased by 4.7 kt y/y, mainly reflecting the robust performance of the Indonesia-Matsusaka-Clydachflowsheet. 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.

4

ANNEX 1 - Production and sales summary

Iron ore

000' metric tons

1Q24

4Q23

∆ q/q

1Q23

∆ y/y

Northern System

35,929

48,852

-26.5%

35,771

0.4%

Serra Norte and Serra Leste

18,218

28,702

-36.5%

19,450

-6.3%

S11D

17,711

20,150

-12.1%

16,321

8.5%

Southeastern System

19,561

21,595

-9.4%

18,604

5.1%

Itabira (Cauê, Conceição and others)

7,599

7,979

-4.8%

7,439

2.2%

Minas Centrais (Brucutu and others)

6,408

6,658

-3.8%

5,411

18.4%

Mariana (Alegria, Timbopeba and others)

5,555

6,959

-20.2%

5,753

-3.4%

Southern System

15,347

18,949

-19.0%

12,399

23.8%

Paraopeba (Mutuca, Fábrica and others)

6,525

8,758

-25.5%

4,326

50.8%

Vargem Grande (VGR, Pico and others)

8,822

10,191

-13.4%

8,074

9.3%

IRON ORE PRODUCTION1

70,837

89,397

-20.8%

66,774

6.1%

OWN PRODUCTION

65,024

81,585

-20.3%

63,490

2.4%

THIRD-PARTY PURCHASES

5,813

7,812

-25.6%

3,284

77.0%

IRON ORE SALES

63,826

90,328

-29.3%

55,659

14.7%

FINES SALES2

52,546

77,885

-32.5%

45,861

14.6%

IOCJ

9,453

13,074

-27.7%

11,215

-15.7%

BRBF

25,715

45,199

-43.1%

20,345

26.4%

Pellet feed - China (PFC1)3

2,536

3,279

-22.7%

2,642

-4.0%

Lump

1,809

1,871

-3.3%

1,394

29.8%

High-silica products

8,490

8,646

-1.8%

5,536

53.4%

Other fines (60-62% Fe)

4,543

5,816

-21.9%

4,739

-4.1%

PELLET SALES

9,225

10,285

-10.3%

8,133

13.4%

ROM SALES

2,056

2,158

-4.7%

1,665

23.5%

SALES FROM 3RD PARTY PURCHASE

5,648

7,807

-27.7%

3,545

59.3%

  1. Including third party purchases, run -of-mine and feed for pelletizing plants. Excluding Midwestern System volumes. Vale's product portfolio Fe content reached
    62.0%, alumina 1.2% and silica 6.5% in 1Q24.
  2. Including third-party purchases.
  3. Products concentrated in Chinese facilities .

Pellets

000' metric tons

1Q24

4Q23

∆ q/q

1Q23

∆ y/y

Northern System

766

735

4.2%

784

-2.3%

São Luis

766

735

4.2%

784

-2.3%

Southeastern System

4,852

5,618

-13.6%

4,668

3.9%

Itabrasco (Tubarão 3)

557

739

-24.6%

951

-41.4%

Hispanobras (Tubarão 4)

688

892

-22.9%

-

n.m.

Nibrasco (Tubarão 5 and 6)

1,153

1,585

-27.3%

1,208

-4.6%

Kobrasco (Tubarão 7)

852

899

-5.2%

948

-10.1%

Tubarão 8

1,601

1,503

6.5%

1,562

2.5%

Southern System

1,219

1,175

3.7%

1,147

6.3%

Fábrica

-

-

-

-

-

Vargem Grande

1,219

1,175

3.7%

1,147

6.3%

Oman

1,629

2,323

-29.9%

1,719

-5.2%

PELLET PRODUCTION

8,467

9,851

-14.0%

8,318

1.8%

PELLET SALES

9,225

10,285

-10.3%

8,133

13.4%

5

Copper - Finished production by source

000' metric tons

1Q24

4Q23

∆ q/q

1Q23

∆ y/y

Brazil

60.6

76.7

-21.0%

46.1

31.5%

Salobo

48.4

55.2

-12.3%

32.8

47.6%

Sossego

12.3

21.4

-42.5%

13.3

-7.5%

Canada

21.3

22.4

-4.9%

20.9

1.9%

Sudbury

16.8

15.4

9.1%

16.3

3.1%

Thompson

0.4

2.9

-86.2%

0.1

300.0%

Voisey's Bay

2.7

2.7

0.0%

2.0

35.0%

Feed from third parties1

1.3

1.4

-7.1%

2.5

-48.0%

COPPER PRODUCTION

81.9

99.1

-17.4%

67.0

22.2%

COPPER SALES

76.8

97.5

-21.2%

62.7

22.5%

Copper Sales Brazil

56.4

76.3

-26.1%

43.2

30.6%

Copper Sales Canada

20.4

21.2

-3.8%

19.5

4.6%

1 External feed purchased from third parties and processed into copper in our Canadian operation.

Nickel

000' metric tons

1Q24

4Q23

∆ q/q

1Q23

∆ y/y

FINISHED PRODUCTION BY SOURCE

Canada

16.9

16.7

1.2%

16.3

3.7%

Sudbury

10.2

10.0

2.0%

9.5

7.4%

Thompson

2.4

3.2

-25.0%

2.5

-4.0%

Voisey's Bay

4.4

3.5

25.7%

4.3

2.3%

Indonesia

18.7

19.8

-5.6%

14.0

33.6%

Brazil

-

0.6

-100.0%

4.9

-100.0%

Feed from third-parties1

3.8

7.7

-50.6%

5.9

-35.6%

FINISHED PRODUCTION BY SITE

Sudbury

13.8

16.2

-14.8%

14.0

-1.4%

Voisey's Bay & Long Harbour

7.7

8.3

-7.2%

8.7

-11.5%

Onça Puma

-

0.6

-100.0%

4.9

-100.0%

Clydach

10.2

10.5

-2.9%

8.2

24.4%

Matsusaka

3.3

3.9

-15.4%

1.9

73.7%

Others2

4.5

5.4

-16.7%

3.4

32.4%

NICKEL PRODUCTION

39.5

44.9

-12.0%

41.0

-3.7%

NICKEL SALES

33.1

47.9

-30.9%

40.1

-17.5%

  1. External feed purchased from third parties and processed into finished nickel in our Canadian operations.
  2. Includes intermediates produced in Thompson and PTVI, tolling and others.

Energy Transition Metals by-products - Finished production

1Q24

4Q23

∆ q/q

1Q23

∆ y/y

COBALT (metric tons)

482

549

-12.2%

597

-19.3%

PLATINUM (000' oz troy)

30

31

-3.2%

34

-11.8%

PALLADIUM (000' oz troy)

39

39

0.0%

40

-2.5%

GOLD (000' oz troy)1

104

123

-15.4%

79

31.6%

TOTAL BY-PRODUCTS

38

45

-15.6%

34

11.8%

(000' metric tons Cu eq.)2 3

  1. Includes Gold from Copper and Nickel operations.
  2. Includes Iridium, Rhodium, Ruthenium and Silver.
  3. Copper equivalent tons calculated using average market metal prices for each quarter. Market reference prices: for copper and cobalt: LME spot; for Gold,
    Silver, Platinum, and Palladium: Bloomberg; for other PGMs: Johnson Matthey .

6

ANNEX 2 - Energy Transition Metals: Preventive Maintenance scheduled in 2024

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Copper operations

Salobo

Salobo I&II

< 1 week

1 week

1 week

1 week

Salobo III

< 1 week

1 week

1 week

1 week

Sossego

Sossego

4.5 weeks

4 weeks

1.5 weeks

1.5 week

Nickel operations

Sudbury

Coleman

4 weeks

Creighton

1 week

5 weeks

Copper Cliff North

3.5 weeks

Copper Cliff South

2.5 week

Garson

4 weeks

Totten

3 weeks

Clarabelle mill

4.5 weeks

Sudbury Smelter

5 weeks

Sudbury Refinery

6 weeks

Port Colborne (Ni, Co &

6 weeks

PGMs)

Thompson

Thompson mine

4.5 weeks

Thompson mill

4.5 weeks

Voisey's Bay & Long Harbour

Voisey's Bay

2 weeks

1 week

Long Harbour Refinery

4.5 weeks

Standalone Refineries

Clydach

5 weeks

Matsusaka

6.5 weeks

Indonesia

PTVI (furnaces/kilns only)

0 weeks

1.5 weeks

1 weeks

<1 week

Brazil

Onça Puma

11 weeks¹

<1 week

<1 week

<1 week

¹ Refers to the furnace rebuild. The ramp up after maintenance is not included in the number of weeks.

Note: The maintenance schedule may be deliberately adjusted if it proves beneficial for operations and the overall business. The number of weeks is rounded to 0.0 or 0.5 and may involve m ore than one maintenance activity within the quarter.

7

Further information on Vale can be found at: vale.com

Investor Relations

Vale IR: vale.ri@vale.com

Thiago Lofiego: thiago.lofiego@vale.com

Luciana Oliveti: luciana.oliveti@vale.com

Mariana Rocha: mariana.rocha@vale.com

Patrícia Tinoco: patricia.tinoco@vale.com

Pedro Terra: pedro.terra@vale.com

This press release may include statements about Vale's current expectations about future events or results (forward-looking statements), including in particular expectations for production and sales of iron ore, nickel and copper on pages 1, 2, 3 and 4. Many of those forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "expect," "should," "plan," "intend," "estimate" "will" and "potential," among others. All forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Vale cannot guarantee that these statements will prove correct. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, factors related to: (a) the countries where Vale operates, especially Brazil and Canada; (b) the global economy; (c) the capital markets; (d) the mining and metals prices and their dependence on global industrial production, which is cyclical by nature; and (e) global competition in the markets in which Vale operates. Vale cautions you that actual results may differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in this presentation. Vale undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information or future events or for any other reason. To obtain further information on factors that may lead to results different from those forecast by Vale, please consult the reports that Vale files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) and, in particular, the factors discussed under "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in Vale's annual report on Form 20-F.

8

Attachments

  • Original Link
  • Original Document
  • Permalink

Disclaimer

Vale SA published this content on 16 April 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 16 April 2024 22:00:18 UTC.