page_title: Vale (company)
section_title: Mining business
hierarchical_section_title: Vale (company) / Current operations / Mining business
caption_attribution_description: English: NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 Team. Caption by Holli Riebeek. Instrument: EO-1 - ALI
context_page_description: Vale S.A. is a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining and one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil.
  Vale, formerly Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, is the largest producer of iron ore and nickel in the world. Vale also produces manganese, ferroalloys, copper, bauxite, potash, kaolin, and cobalt, currently operating nine hydroelectricity plants, and a large network of railroads, ships, and ports used to transport its products.
  The company has had two catastrophic tailings dam failures in Brazil: Mariana, in 2015, and Brumadinho, in 2019; the Brumadinho dam disaster caused the company to lose its license to operate eight tailings dams in Minas Gerais, and its stock to lose nearly 25 percent in value.
context_section_description: Iron ore: Vale is the world's largest iron ore producer. Sales of iron ore fines and pellets represented 65% of total company revenues in 2014. In 2014, Vale sold 256 million metric tonnes of iron ore fines and 44 million metric tonnes of iron ore pellets. Vale's Mariana Hub was the 9th largest iron ore mining center in the world in 2014, with an output of 39 million metric tonnes. Vale's Serra Sull / S11D is the largest mining reserve in the world.  The company's iron ore mines are primarily in Brazil.
  Nickel: Vale is the world's largest nickel producer. Sales of nickel represented 17% of total company revenues in 2014. In 2014, Vale sold 272,000 metric tonnes of nickel.  The company owns nickel mines in Canada, Indonesia, New Caledonia, and Brazil.
  Fertilizer products, primarily phosphates and nitrogen: Sales of fertilizer products represented 6% of total company revenues in 2014. In 2014, Vale sold 9 million metric tonnes of fertilizer products.
  Copper: Sales of copper concentrate represented 4% of total company revenues in 2014. In 2014, Vale sold 353,000 metric tonnes of copper. The company owns copper mines in Brazil, Canada, Chile, and Zambia.
  Manganese and alloys: Sales of manganese and alloys represented 1% of total company revenues in 2014. In 2014, Vale sold 2 million metric tonnes of manganese and alloys.
  Coal: Sales of coal represented 2% of total company revenues in 2014. In 2014, Vale sold 7.5 million metric tonnes of coal. The company owns coal mines in Australia and Mozambique.
caption: Vale's Carajás Iron Mine, Pará, 2009 NASA satellite photo
exif: {}