Brazilian mining company Vale increased its iron ore production to 336mn t in 2025, up by 2.6pc compared with a year earlier, reaching its highest annual output since 2018 and above its projections set earlier in the year.
The company's annual output surpassed its guidance for 2025 iron ore production, estimated at around 325mn-335mn metric tonnes (t).
Vale attributed the increase to the continuous ramp-up in both Capanema and VGR1 projects, based in southeastern and southern Brazil, respectively. Also, its S11D project in Carajas, northern Brazil, tapped an output record of 86mn t in 2025.
For 2026, the company is guiding output at around 335mn-345mn t of iron ore and 30mn-34mn t of iron ore pellets. The Capanema project is expected to reach its full capacity by the second quarter of 2026, Vale said.
The firm's iron ore sales rose by 2.5pc on the year to nearly 314.4mn t last year. Vale's iron ore fines prices fell to an average $91.6/t last year from $95.3/t a year earlier.
Vale's iron ore pellet production declined by 15pc to 31.3mn t in 2025 because of a feedstock redirection to fines sales, the company said. Pellet sales fell by over 14pc to 32.8mn t, while average prices dropped to $134/t last year from $154.6/t in 2024.
4Q results
Vale's iron ore production increased to 90.4mn t in the fourth quarter, up by 6pc from a year earlier.
Capanema's ramp-up provided an additional 3mn t of iron ore output in the quarter, totaling almost 24mn t in the southeastern assets during the quarter, up by 4.4mn t from a year earlier. The Vargem Grande complex, which includes the VGR1 project, produced 13.5mn t in the fourth quarter, up by 4.6mn t from a year prior.
The firm's iron ore sales rose by 4.5pc to 84.8mn t in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. Vale's iron ore fines prices increased to $95.4/t in the quarter from $93/t a year earlier.
As for iron ore pellets, Vale's production declined by 0.8mn t in the quarter, mostly because of a recurring maintenance in its Sao Luis pelletizing plant, it said. Sales fell by 10pc on the year to 9mn t, with prices down to $131.4/t in the latest quarter from $143/t in the fourth quarter of 2024.
