Vale (VALE) reported Tuesday that its FY 2025 iron ore production rose 2.6% Y/Y to 336.1M metric tons, marking the first time since 2018 that its output surpassed rival Rio Tinto’s (RIO) operations in Australia’s Pilbara region.
Vale (VALE) lost the position of world’s largest iron ore producer to Rio TInto (RIO) in 2019, when the collapse of a tailings dam in the Brazilian city of Brumadinho killed more than 250 people and prompted a safety review of the company’s projects.
Rio (RIO) reported last week that its 2025 iron ore production from the Pilbara totaled 327.3M metric tons; when including its Canadian operations, total iron ore output hit 336.6M tons.
For Q4, Vale (VALE) said iron ore production rose 6% Y/Y to 90.4M tons, driven by Brucutu’s robust performance and the continued ramp-up of the Capanema and VGR1 projects, while Q4 pellet production fell 9% Y/Y to 8.3M tons in Q4.
Q4 copper production increased 6% to 108.1K tons, the company’s highest quarterly copper output since 2018, reflecting all-time-high production at Salobo, while nickel production rose 2% to 46.2K tons.