Brazilian miner Vale is committed to maintaining iron ore production at 400 million tonnes per year until 2023 from its estimated capacity of 450 million tpy, the company said on Tuesday December 4 during an investor presentation at the New York Stock Exchange.
The miner, the world's largest iron ore producer and one of the most efficient ones, is not alarmed by recent price weakness, chief executive officer Fabio Schvartsman said. He maintained estimates of $60-80 per tonne for 62% Fe prices in the next year, stating "it is a comfortable band" for the company."We were already expecting prices to soften during winter in China and planning to hold a little bit in inventories in order to take advantage during the start of next year," the CEO said."But winter [capacity] cuts in China [for environmental reasons] were lower than expected and all of a sudden there was a lot more steel supply in the...