United States

Securities and Exchange Commission

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 6-K

 

Report of Foreign Private Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16

of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

For the month of

 

January 2023

 

Vale S.A.

 

Praia de Botafogo nº 186, 18º andar, Botafogo
22250-145 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

(Address of principal executive office)

 

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)

 

(Check One) Form 20-F x Form 40-F ¨

 

(Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1))

 

(Check One) Yes ¨ No x 

 

(Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7))

 

(Check One) Yes ¨ No x

 

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)

 

(Check One) Yes ¨ No x

 

(If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b). 82-     .)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vale’s production and sales in 4Q22 and 2022

Rio de Janeiro, January 31st, 2023

Vale’s Q4 performance was marked by strong iron ore fines and nickel sales, up 24% and 30% q/q respectively, converting into sales the inventories formed in the previous quarter.
Iron ore production totaled 308 Mt in 2022, 2% lower y/y, mainly due to (i) licensing delays at Serra Norte; and (ii) jaspilite waste processing and operational performance at S11D. This was partially offset by (i) continued production ramp-up at Vargem Grande; (ii) higher dry processing production at Brucutu; and (iii) higher third-party purchase.
Pellets production totaled 32 Mt in 2022, up 1% y/y, with an improved mix of direct reduction pellets (49% of total production vs. 41% in 2021), leveraging on the higher-quality feed and taking advantage of better market premiums.
Nickel production grew 6% in 2022 to 179 kt, largely due to the stabilization of Sudbury operations after the labor strike in 2021, as well as consistent and strong performance at Onça Puma. This was partially offset by lower feed availability owing to PTVI furnace rebuild and the later ramp-up of VBME.
Copper production decreased 15%, totaling 253 kt in 2022, due to extended maintenance at Sossego mill during the first half of the year, and additional maintenance required at both Sossego and Salobo. This was partially offset by higher production in Canada owing to the stabilization of Sudbury mines and the recovery of copper from copper precipitates in Thompson, reducing waste as part of our approach to circular mining.

 

 

Production summary

            % change

2022

guidance

2023

guidance

000’ metric tons 4Q22 3Q22 4Q21 2022 2021 4Q22/3Q22 4Q22/4Q21 2022/2021
Iron ore1 80,852 89,701 81,678 307,793 312,901 -9.9% -1.0% -1.6% ~310 Mt 310-320 Mt
Pellets 8,261 8,256 9,073 32,111 31,708 0.1% -8.9% 1.3% ~33 Mt 36-40 Mt2
Nickel 47.4 51.8 48.0 179.1 168.3 -8.5% -1.3% 6.4% ~180 kt 160-175 kt
Copper 66.3 74.3 77.5 253.1 296.8 -10.8% -14.5% -14.7% ~260 kt 335-370 kt

1 Including third-party purchases, run-of-mine and feed for pelletizing plants. Excluding Midwestern System volumes.

2 Iron ore agglomerates guidance, including iron ore pellets and briquettes.

 

 

Sales summary

            % change
000’ metric tons 4Q22 3Q22 4Q21 2022 2021 4Q22/3Q22 4Q22/4Q21 2022/2021
Iron ore fines1 81,202 65,381 81,749 260,663 270,885 24.2% -0.7% -3.8%
Iron ore pellets 8,789 8,521 10,351 33,164 32,306 3.1% -15.1% 2.7%
Iron ore ROM 1,963 3,668 607 8,216 2,052 -46.5% 223.4% 300.4%
Nickel 58.2 44.3 44.7 180.8 181.7 31.4% 30.2% -0.5%
Copper 71.6 70.5 73.7 243.9 284.5 1.6% -2.8% -14.3%

1 Including third-party purchases. Excluding Midwestern System volumes.

 

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Businesses’ highlights in 4Q22

 

Iron Ore and Pellets operations

·

Iron ore fines and pellets sales increased 22% q/q, totaling 90 Mt, boosted by the drawdown of in-transit inventories formed in Q3. All-in premium totaled US$ 5.4/t1 (vs. US$ 6.6/t in 3Q22), mainly due to lower contractual pellet premiums, after record premiums in Q3.

 
·Northern System production decrease q/q is largely explained by seasonally higher rainfall level2 and Serra Norte’s performance, impacted by (i) lower ROM availability as a result of slower licensing processes; and (ii) processing plants’ conveyor belts maintenance in October and November.
·Southeastern System and Southern Systems’ production decreased q/q, impacted by seasonally higher rainfall level3 in Minas Gerais region. Additionally, Southeastern performance was affected by a planned maintenance carried out in Alegria’s mining equipment, while Southern System results were impacted by lower third-party purchase.
·Pellet production was flat q/q, driven by the higher pellet feed availability for Tubarão plants and the resumption of Plant #5, increasing Tubarão pellet production, which was offset by a maintenance carried out at Plant #7 in Tubarão complex and São Luis plant.

1 Iron ore premium of US$ 1.6/t and weighted average contribution of pellets of US$ 3.8/t.

2 Rainfall level: 472 mm at Serra Norte in 4Q22 (vs. 31 mm in 3Q22) and 421 mm at S11D in 4Q22 (vs. 36 mm in 3Q22).

3 Rainfall level: 577 mm at Mariana Complex in Southeastern System in 4Q22 (vs. 35 mm in 3Q22) and 716 mm at Vargem Grande Complex in Southern System 4Q22 (vs.44 mm in 3Q22).

2 

 

 

Nickel operations

·

Nickel sales were 31% higher q/q and 23% greater than the quarterly production, as expected, following the inventory buildup in Q3 to meet sales commitments during planned maintenance at Long Harbour and Matsusaka in Q4.

 
·Finished nickel production from Sudbury-sourced ore decreased 9% q/q, as mine and mill maintenance activities in Q3 limited finished production in Q4. During Q4, Sudbury mines achieved the highest quarterly production rates since 2Q19, which is expected to be translated into better finished nickel production in 1H23.
·Finished nickel production from Thompson-sourced ore declined 11% q/q attributed to scheduled maintenance at the Long Harbour Refinery during the quarter.
·Finished nickel production from Voisey’s Bay-sourced ore was 10% lower q/q, partially reflecting scheduled maintenance at the Long Harbour Refinery during the quarter, in addition to the production gap created by the depletion of Ovoid mine and the ramp-up of the Voisey’s Bay underground project.
·Finished nickel production from third parties increased 5% q/q, which was planned to offset lower production from Voisey’s Bay ore in the quarter. Consumption of third-party feed is expected to remain higher than in recent years, aiming to maximize the utilization and performance of our downstream operations.
· Finished nickel production from Indonesia-sourced material was 6% lower q/q, reflecting lower nickel-in-matte production due to furnace corrective maintenance. Nickel in matte production was 16.2 kt in the quarter, 8% lower q/q.
· Nickel production at Onça Puma decreased 25% q/q as the kiln underwent a planned maintenance, which impacted 18 days in the quarter.

3 

 

Copper operations

 ·

Copper sales4 were in line q/q, despite lower production mainly due to the sale of inventories of Thompson copper precipitate and Voisey’s Bay concentrate, in-line with sales commitments.

 
   
·Sossego copper production decreased 18% q/q, impacted by planned and corrective maintenance work conducted during the quarter, primarily related to crushing activities.
·Salobo copper production decreased 15% q/q, due to planned and corrective maintenance, impacting plant availability.
·Salobo III project successful started-up in the end of 2022 on time and on budget. The project will add 30-40 ktpy in additional copper production and it will achieve full capacity in 4Q24.
·Copper production in Canada increased 2% q/q. Sudbury mines improved performance following scheduled maintenance in 3Q22. This was offset by a decrease in Thompson copper production, reflecting the winter season stoppage of copper precipitate recovery, and ongoing ramp-up of the underground mine at Voisey’s Bay.

 


4 Sales volumes are lower compared to production volumes due to payable copper vs. contained copper: part of the copper contained in the concentrates is lost in the smelting and refining process, hence payable quantities of copper are approximately 3.5% lower than contained volumes.

4 

 

 

ANNEX - Production and sales summary

 

 

Iron ore

            % change
000’ metric tons 4Q22 3Q22 4Q21 2022 2021 4Q22/3Q22 4Q22/4Q21 2022/2021
Northern System 45,097 49,652 50,021 171,555 188,835 -9.2% -9.8% -9.2%
Serra Norte and Serra Leste 26,486 30,678 30,958 102,298 115,135 -13.7% -14.4% -11.1%
S11D 18,611 18,974 19,062 69,257 73,699 -1.9% -2.4% -6.0%
Southeastern System 18,405 19,725 18,659 72,644 69,780 -6.7% -1.4% 4.1%
Itabira (Cauê, Conceição and others) 7,007 7,017 7,987 27,283 28,696 -0.1% -12.3% -4.9%
Minas Centrais (Brucutu and others) 5,395 5,845 4,664 20,759 19,306 -7.7% 15.7% 7.5%
Mariana (Alegria, Timbopeba and others) 6,003 6,864 6,008 24,602 21,778 -12.5% -0.1% 13.0%
Southern System 17,350 20,324 12,999 63,594 54,285 -14.6% 33.5% 17.1%
Paraopeba (Mutuca, Fábrica and others) 8,403 10,725 4,892 30,106 22,975 -21.7% 71.8% 31.0%
Vargem Grande (Vargem Grande, Pico and others) 8,947 9,599 8,106 33,488 31,310 -6.8% 10.4% 7.0%
IRON ORE PRODUCTION1 80,852 89,701 81,678 307,793 312,901 -9.9% -1.0% -1.6%
IRON ORE SALES2 91,954 77,569 92,706 302,042 305,293 18.5% -0.8% -1.1%
FINES AND PELLETS SALES 89,991 73,902 92,099 293,827 303,241 21.8% -2.3% -3.1%
FINES SALES3 81,202 65,381 81,749 260,663 270,935 24.2% -0.7% -3.8%
PELLETS SALES 8,789 8,521 10,351 33,164 32,306 3.1% -15.1% 2.7%
ROM SALES 1,963 3,668 607 8,216 2,052 -46.5% 223.4% 300.4%

1 Including third party purchases, run-of-mine and feed for pelletizing plants. Excluding Midwestern System volumes. Vale’s product portfolio Fe content reached 62.0%, alumina 1.3% and silica 6.7% in 4Q22.

2 Including sales of iron ore fines, pellets, run-of-mine and third-party purchase.

3 Including third-party purchases. Excluding Midwestern System volumes.

 

Pellets

            % change
000’ metric tons 4Q22 3Q22 4Q21 2022 2021 4Q22/3Q22 4Q22/4Q21 2022/2021
Northern System 739 899 895 3,212 3,624 -17.8% -17.4% -11.4%
  São Luis 739 899 895 3,212 3,624 -17.8% -17.4% -11.4%
Southeastern System 3,616 3,284 4,807 14,677 16,736 10.1% -24.8% -12.3%
  Itabrasco (Tubarão 3) 960 525 1,089 2,725 3,389 82.9% -11.8% -19.6%
  Hispanobras (Tubarão 4) - - - - 169 - - -100.0%
  Nibrasco (Tubarão 5 and 6) 1,131 349 1,052 3,465 3,794 224.1% 7.5% -8.7%
  Kobrasco (Tubarão 7) 178 924 989 3,034 3,225 -80.7% -82.0% -5.9%
  Tubarão 8 1,347 1,485 1,677 5,451 6,162 -9.3% -19.7% -11.5%
Southern System 1,222 1,268 745 4,305 3,179 -3.6% 64.0% 35.4%
  Fábrica - - - - - - - -
  Vargem Grande 1,222 1,268 745 4,305 3,179 -3.6% 64.0% 35.4%
Oman 2,684 2,805 2,625 9,919 8,169 -4.3% 2.2% 21.4%
PELLETS PRODUCTION 8,261 8,256 9,073 32,111 31,708 0.1% -8.9% 1.3%
PELLETS SALES 8,789 8,521 10,351 33,164 32,306 3.1% -15.1% 2.7%

 

Nickel - Finished production by source

            % change
000’ metric tons 4Q22 3Q22 4Q21 2022 2021 4Q22/3Q22 4Q22/4Q21 2022/2021
Canada 18.2 20.0 18.3 73.3 76.4 -9.0% -0.5% -4.1%
Sudbury 11.1 12.2 8.8 39.0 32.2 -9.0% 26.1% 21.1%
Thompson 2.4 2.7 1.2 9.9 6.0 -11.1% 100.0% 65.0%
Voisey's Bay 4.6 5.1 8.4 24.4 38.2 -9.8% -45.2% -36.1%
Indonesia 18.0 19.2 21.7 63.9 66.7 -6.3% -17.1% -4.2%
Brazil 5.1 6.8 5.4 23.6 19.1 -25.0% -5.6% 23.6%
Feed from third-parties1 6.1 5.8 2.6 18.3 6.1 5.2% 134.6% 200.0%
NICKEL PRODUCTION 47.4 51.8 48.0 179.1 168.3 -8.5% -1.3% 6.4%
NICKEL SALES 58.2 44.3 44.7 180.8 181.7 31.4% 30.2% -0.5%

 

1 External feed purchased from third parties and processed into finished nickel in our Canadian operations.

 

5 

 

 

Copper - Finished production by source

            % change
000’ metric tons 4Q22 3Q22 4Q21 2022 2021 4Q22/3Q22 4Q22/4Q21 2022/2021
Brazil 44.9 53.4 57.7 171.0 226.4 -15.9% -22.2% -24.5%
Salobo 29.6 34.7 33.8 127.8 144.6 -14.7% -12.4% -11.6%
Sossego 15.3 18.7 24.0 43.2 81.8 -18.2% -36.3% -47.2%
Canada 21.4 20.9 19.7 82.1 70.4 2.4% 8.6% 16.1%
Sudbury 16.1 12.3 12.9 59.2 46.2 30.9% 24.8% 28.1%
Thompson 1.2 3.6 0.2 5.3 0.4 -66.7% 500.0% 1,225.0%
Voisey's Bay 1.9 3.3 5.1 10.8 20.2 -42.4% -62.7% -46.8%
Feed from third parties 2.2 1.7 1.6 6.8 3.6 29.4% 37.5% 88.9%
COPPER PRODUCTION 66.3 74.3 77.5 253.1 296.8 -10.8% -14.5% -14.7%
COPPER SALES 71.6 70.5 73.7 243.9 284.5 1.6% -2.8% -14.3%
Copper Sales Brazil 44.7 52.9 52.7 166.3 216.2 -15.5% -15.2% -23.1%
Copper Sales Canada 26.9 17.6 21.0 77.5 68.3 52.8% 28.1% 13.5%

 

Base Metals by-products - Finished production

            % change
  4Q22 3Q22 4Q21 2022 2021 4Q22/3Q22 4Q22/4Q21 2022/2021
COBALT (000’ metric tons) 529 609 603 2,434 2,521 -13.1% -12.3% -3.5%
PLATINUM (000’ oz troy) 25 32 17 102 79 -21.9% 47.1% 29.1%
PALLADIUM (000’ oz troy) 33 37 19 127 98 -10.8% 73.7% 29.6%
GOLD (000’ oz troy)1 74 84 89 289 364 -11.9% -16.9% -20.6%

TOTAL BY-PRODUCTS

(000’ metric tons Cu eq.)2 3

34 41 29 134 137 -17.1% 17.2% -2.2%

1 Includes gold from Copper and Nickel operations.

2 Includes iridium, rhodium, ruthenium and silver.

3 Copper equivalent tons calculated using average market metal prices for each quarter. Market reference prices: for copper, cobalt, gold and silver: LME spot; for Platinum and Palladium: NYMEX spot; for other PGMs: Johnson Matthey.

 

6 

 

 

Further information on Vale can be found at: vale.com

 

Investor Relations

Vale IR: vale.ri@vale.com

Ivan Fadel: ivan.fadel@vale.com

Luciana Oliveti: luciana.oliveti@vale.com

Mariana Rocha: mariana.rocha@vale.com

Samir Bassil: samir.bassil@vale.com

 

 

 

This press release may include statements about Vale's current expectations about future events or results (forward-looking statements). Many of those forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "expect," "should," "plan," "intend," "estimate" “will” and "potential," among others. All forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Vale cannot guarantee that these statements will prove correct. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, factors related to: (a) the countries where Vale operates, especially Brazil and Canada; (b) the global economy; (c) the capital markets; (d) the mining and metals prices and their dependence on global industrial production, which is cyclical by nature; and (e) global competition in the markets in which Vale operates. Vale cautions you that actual results may differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in this presentation. Vale undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information or future events or for any other reason. To obtain further information on factors that may lead to results different from those forecast by Vale, please consult the reports that Vale files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) and, in particular, the factors discussed under “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in Vale’s annual report on Form 20-F.

 

7 

 

  

Signatures

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

  Vale S.A.
(Registrant)  
   
  By: /s/ Ivan Fadel
Date: January 31, 2023   Head of Investor Relations

 

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