Brazil’s Vale targets 289,000 mt nickel, 405,000 mt copper in 2014

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

London (Platts)–2Dec2013/957 am EST/1457 GMT

Vale plans to produce 289,000 mt of nickel and 405,000 mt of copper in 2014, the Brazilian miner said Monday.
In the first nine months of this year, nickel production reached 192,000 mt, up from 173,000 mt in January-September 2012. Copper production stood at 275,000 mt, up from 211,000 mt in the year-earlier period.

Vale has approved an investment budget of $2.052 billion for its base metals operations for next year, up 13.9% from 2013, the company said. The total comprises $790 million for project execution, $1.023 billion to sustain existing operations and $239 million for research and development.

The company plans to spend $332 million next year to complete the $1.7 billion Salobo II expansion at the copper-gold mining operation in Para state.