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Vale SA has closed the iron-ore production gap with its main rival Rio Tinto Group, and is even expected to report slightly higher output in the fourth quarter.
Rio Tinto’s Australian mines churned out 84.1 million metric tons of the steel-making ingredient last quarter. In its production statement Thursday, Vale will report 85.6 million tons, according to the average analyst estimate.
The Brazilian miner lost the title of top iron ore supplier to Rio Tinto in the wake of a tailings dam disaster three years ago. After focusing on safety, Vale has slowly brought back production. Rio Tinto, meanwhile, has suffered from rain disruptions, the fallout from a cultural heritage fiasco and project delays.
Now the two firms are level pegging, even delivering identical 2022 guidance of 320-335 million tons, although Rio Tinto’s is for shipments and Vale’s is for production.
Bragging rights aside, the Rio de Janeiro-based company continues to bang the drum of value over volume, wary of flooding a market that’s still recovering from a rout in the second half of last year.
“Vale wants the flexibility to produce 400mt but will not oversupply the market and is happy to stay around the current production levels if this is all the market needs,” Citigroup analysts wrote in a note to clients after a meeting with Chief Financial Officer Gustavo Pimenta.
(By Mariana Durao and James Attwood)
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