Nickel production, meanwhile, might come in at between 206,000 tonnes and 227,000 tonnes, up 10% from Vale’s baseline scenario for that year.
Vale said the new forecasts come as it plans to disburse $800 million in the next three years under its energy transition metals asset review initiative.
The miner said $650 million would be directed to investments in capacity run rate and reliability, while the remainder would be allocated to improve the performance of Sudbury and Salobo – key copper and nickel assets in Canada and Brazil, respectively.
The broad review, which also takes into account a 30% production uplift in Sudbury and lower costs, could add $400 million to Vale’s earnings before interest, amortization and depreciation (EBITDA) by 2026, the company added.
(Reporting by Peter Frontini; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)
