Vale’s new boss commits to boost copper production after falling behind rivals

Vale (NYSE:VALE) plans to grow its copper production, new CEO Gustavo Pimento said Wednesday in his first public remarks since starting his new role at the company, conceding it has lost ground to its competitors as 90% of its revenues come from iron ore.

Vale (VALE) has guided for production of 320K-355K metric tons of copper this year, compared to what Pimenta described as output of more than 1M tons/year by top players in the market.

Pimenta also knocked down expectations for an IPO of Vale’s (VALE) base metals unit, saying it is currently not under consideration.

The CEO said once the base metals unit raises its copper output to ~500K tons/year of production, the company will then consider whether it needs to tap capital markets for funding.

Executives from Vale (VALE) and state-owned BNDES development bank also announced the creation of a 1B real (~$184M) fund to support local mineral projects aimed at the energy transition; Vale and BNDES will contribute up to 250M reais each to the fund.