Sales volumes for the ore used to manufacture steel meanwhile reached 45.86 million tonnes, 10.6% lower than a year earlier. The gap between sales and production was a result of port loading restrictions, as rains impacted its stockpile formation, and unscheduled maintenance on port equipment, Vale said, also citing supply chain rebalancing after strong sales in the previous quarter.
The firm's nickel output fell 10.5% to 41,000 tonnes in the quarter, while its sales volumes grew 2.8%. Vale, one of the world's largest miners, has previously signed contracts to supply nickel to major auto makers including Tesla and General Motors . Copper out came in at 67,000 tonnes, a 1.1% increase from a year earlier. (Reporting by Peter Frontini Editing by Chris Reese and Brendan O'Boyle)
