Vale says Q2 output rises 5.5% despite pandemic

Brazilian miner Vale said on Monday that its second-quarter iron-ore production totalled 67.6-million tonnes, up 5.5% from a year earlier and 13.4% higher than the first quarter, despite the impact of the novel coronavirus.

Vale said it was keeping its full-year outlook for iron ore fines production unchanged at 310-million to 330-million tonnes, but emphasised that the most probable scenario was for output to be at the lower end of that range.

The result comes soon after iron-ore prices surged to their highest level in almost a year last week, above $111 a ton, amid a shortage of world supply as China reopens its economy. China has been boosting imports for the key steel ingredient.