Vale's nickel production fell 17.9% year on year in the first-quarter 2018, following the company's decision to place non-competitive mines in Canada on care and maintenance, among other steps taken to optimize margins.
Finished nickel output came to 58,600 tonnes in the three months ended in March 31, against 71,400 tonnes in the corresponding months of 2017, the Brazilian diversified miner and world's largest nickel producer said on Monday April 16.The volume is also 24.9% lower than the fourth quarter of 2017, when Vale produced 78,000 tonnes of finished nickel.Such a decline is a result of, "Vale's rigorous capital allocation process based on returns," the company said.While...