Vale’s iron ore output just hit another record – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 20, 2017)

http://www.mining.com/

Brazil’s Vale (NYSE:VALE), the world’s No.1 iron ore miner, said output of the steelmaking material hit a fresh record high in the first quarter as its massive S11D mine in the Amazon continued to ramp up.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company said iron ore production jumped 11% to 86.2 million tonnes in the January-March period, compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

The figure however, was 6.7% lower than total iron ore output of 92.386 million tonnes in the prior three months, and the company said it might restrain supply even further in coming months to support prices if necessary. For now, however, the mining giant reiterated its output guidance for the year of between 360 million and 380 million tonnes of seaborne.

The commodity has been steadily falling in the last few days, to a near six-month low this week, on the back of fresh signs of a supply glut and ramped-up production in China.

While prices have recovered slightly in the past two days — ore with 62% content in Qingdao added 76 cents overnight to $65.36 a tonne on Thursday according to the Metal Bulletin — analysts expect supply to surpass demand for the foreseeable future.

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