Vale S.A. (Vale), a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining, reported that its iron ore production totaled 78.7 million tons in the second quarter of this year, rising by 17.9% from the previous quarter and by 6.3% from the same period a year ago, mainly due to higher output in major mining projects including Brazil’s S11D mine.

During the quarter, iron ore sales reached 63.3 million tons, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 38% and a year-on-year hike of less than 1%.

In terms of iron ore pellets, the production was up by 9.5% quarter on quarter and by 5% year on year to 9.11 million tons, on account of higher output at the Tubarão pellet plants due to increased pellet feed production. The sales reached around 8.81 million tons, a quarter-on-quarter growth of 8.3% and a year-on-year drop of 0.4%.

Vale maintained its iron ore production target at 310-320 million tons for 2023.