Vale – Page 10 – Republic of Mining

” THE STORY OF NICKEL ” 1930s INCO MINING PROMO FILM FROOD MINE SUDBURY, ONTARIO, CANADA

April 30, 2021April 30, 2021

This 1930s black & white educational/promotional film tells “The Story of Nickel”. It was produced by INCO, the International Nickel Company, Ltd., now known as Vale Canada, Limited. INCO as founded following the discovery of copper deposits in Sudbury, Ontario. During World War II, Inco’s Frood-Stobie Mine Mine produced 40% of the nickel used in …

Vale mulls base metals spinoff to tap EV market – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 27, 2021)

April 29, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Brazil’s Vale (NYSE: VALE), the world’s no.1 nickel producer, is evaluating a potential spinoff of its base metals division as part of the miner’s growing interest in the electric vehicles (EV) sector.

The company, which is said to be in talks with Tesla and other EV supply chain actors about securing nickel from its Canadian operations, is in the midst of expanding its Voisey’s Bay site in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Vale’s plans include adding an underground mine to the Voisey’s Bay complex, which will produce about 40,000 tonnes of nickel-in-concentrate per year.

Trafigura Bets on Green-Nickel Squeeze in Defiance of China Cure – by Yvonne Yue Li and Andy Hoffman (Bloomberg News – April 20, 2021)

April 20, 2021April 20, 2021

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Just weeks after a novel production method upended the nickel market, two of the top names in the battery-supply chain made a play that suggests the world’s worries over sourcing cheap, clean supplies of the metal are far from over.

Commodity trader Trafigura Group and Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. signed a deal in late March to enter the Goro mine in New Caledonia, part of a group that will take the operation off the hands of Vale SA. The transaction wasn’t a surprise, with Vale in talks to offload the under-performing mine for months. But the deal’s timing was telling.

Earlier the same month, China’s Tsingshan Group triggered the biggest two-day nickel rout in a decade with its plans to make battery-grade metal from materials previously reserved only for stainless steel, potentially flooding the market. Wall Street banks lowered their nickel forecasts after futures plunged from about $19,000 a ton to $16,000.

Steinmetz loses latest battle against Vale over Simandou – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 5, 2021)

April 6, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Billionaire Beny Steinmetz, the founder and owner of a company embroiled in a long-drawn-out dispute with Vale (NYSE: VALE) over lost rights to the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, has lost his latest battle against the Brazilian miner.

The Rio de Janeiro-based miner said on Monday that local prosecutors had closed an investigation into CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo, and other executives and former directors over alleged illegal practices related to the deal to explore the deposit.

At two billion tonnes of iron ore with some of the highest grades in the industry, Simandou is one of the world’s biggest and richest reserves of the steelmaking material.

MEDIA RELEASE: STEELWORKERS RATIFY NEW FOUR AND A HALF YEAR CONTRACT WITH VALE IN SUDBURY (March 31, 2021)

April 1, 2021

SUDBURY, March 31, 2021 – Vale and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2020 are pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached on a new four and a half year Collective Bargaining Agreement between Vale, Ontario Operations and USW Local 2020. The new agreement takes effect on April 1, 2021.

“The negotiation process has been both productive and respectful, and we are encouraged that we have been able to reach an agreement that the bargaining committee fully endorsed” said Sherri Hawkes, President of USW Local 2020-05.

“We are pleased that the agreement appropriately meets the needs for both the company and union members” said Mitch Medina, Manager of Employee and Labour Relations for Vale’s North Atlantic Operations. “I feel this is exemplified in the endorsement of the agreement by the USW Local 2020 bargaining committee reflecting the positive collaboration throughout the negotiation process.”

Trafigura, New Caledonia group complete takeover of Vale’s Goro nickel, cobalt unit – by Diana Kinch (S&P Global – March 31, 2021)

April 1, 2021

https://www.spglobal.com/

London — The Prony Resources New Caledonia consortium announced March 31 it has completed acquisition of Vale Canada’s Nouvelle-Calédonie S.A.S. (VNC) nickel and cobalt operation. Prony Resources is owned by New Caledonia entities together with international commodities trader Trafigura.

Operations at Prony Resources recommenced in the week of March 28 with the restart of nickel production expected mid-April, the company said in a statement.

The operation, designed to produce up to 57,000 mt/year of processed nickel, with cobalt as a byproduct, is believed to have been at a standstill since mid-December 2020, following protests by independence activists on the Southwest Pacific French island territory of New Caledonia. Prior to this it had been producing below capacity.

Top Nickel Miner Vale Turns Page on 14-Year New Caledonia Foray – by James Attwood (Bloomberg News – March 31, 2021)

April 1, 2021

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca

(Bloomberg) — Vale SA, the biggest producer of mined nickel, closed a deal to divest its underperforming New Caledonian mine to a group that includes the operation’s managers and workers.

The divestment will allow operations to continue and gives Vale the right to a portion of output amid growing demand for the battery metal, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale said in a statement Wednesday.

Tesla Inc. will support the operation through a “technical and industrial partnership” with the consortium, called Prony Resources.

Vale sells New Caledonia nickel assets to Trafigura – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – March 31, 2021)

March 31, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Vale (NYSE: VALE) said on Wednesday it had concluded the sale of its nickel and cobalt operations in New Caledonia, a French territory in the Pacific, to a consortium called Prony, which includes commodity trader Trafigura.

While the Brazilian miner did not disclose the exact terms of the deal, it said that $1.1 billion will be invested in the New Caledonia assets, with $555 million coming from its subsidiary Vale Canada Ltd.

“Vale’s intent from the beginning of the divestment process was to withdraw from New Caledonia in an orderly and responsible manner. This deal accomplishes that,” chief executive Eduardo Bartolomeo said in the statement.

Vale’s search for new mines, reserves continues in Sudbury – by Harald Carmichael (Sudbury Star – March 24, 2021)

March 24, 2021

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

These are interesting times for Vale’s operations in Sudbury and Canada. World nickel prices are high, but so are inventories. The electric vehicle market, which will need substantial quantities of nickel for the batteries to power those vehicles, is poised to take off globally.

The nickel reserves now being mined in Greater Sudbury and Thompson, Man., however, are starting to head into their senior years.

And while there are numerous projects in the early stages of development or on the books to replace those long-standing operations, Vale’s North Atlantic operations are embarking on a much-different business approach as they head into the next decade and beyond.

Massive new port could give Vale back iron ore crown – by Bruno Venditti (Mining.com – March 18, 2021)

March 19, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Global production of iron ore products reached 2.2 billion tonnes in 2020 and is expected to reach 2.35 billion tonnes in 2021, according to Fastmarkets.

Despite the covid-19 pandemic, Chinese demand and Brazilian supply constraints have propelled iron ore prices to decade-highs above $175 a tonne this quarter.

Global total exports amounted 1,170 million tonnes in 2020, 9.3% higher than in 2019. Total China imports exceeded 73% of the world total shipped.

Vale returns to profit, eyes ‘dramatic opportunity’ for nickel – by Staff (Mining Journal – March 2, 2021)

March 3, 2021

https://www.mining-journal.com/

Adjusted EDITDA rose 20% to $4.2 billion, after $4.8 billion in expenses of which $3.9 billion was related to the R37.7 billion (US$7 billion) Brumadinho settlement reached in January.

Vale’s ferrous minerals division achieved its second largest adjusted EBITDA of $8.8 billion, thanks to a 17% rise in realised prices and 26% higher sales volumes compared with the third quarter.

It put its iron ore fines and pellets C1 cash cost ex-third party purchases up slightly, quarter-on-quarter, at $12.70/t, while the cash cost (ex-ROM, ex-royalties) FOB was $15.30/t.

Vale to Pay $7 Billion for One of Worst Ever Mine Disasters – by James Attwood (Yahoo Finance/Bloomberg – February 4, 2021)

February 5, 2021

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Vale SA reached a settlement agreement with Brazilian authorities for a dam collapse that killed 270 people and led to production cutbacks that stripped the company of the title of world’s biggest iron ore producer.

The deal comes two years after the Brumadinho disaster, giving affected communities a clear framework for compensation and reparations and removing a considerable legal overhang for Vale. Its shares were little changed in Sao Paulo.

Vale will pay 37.7 billion reais ($7.03 billion) including cash payments to affected people and investments in environmental projects, the Rio de Janeiro-based company said in a statement. Vale estimates it will book an additional expense of 19.8 billion reais in 2020 results.

Scrap metal company must pay for buying stolen nickel worth millions, Manitoba judge rules – by Cameron MacLean (CBC News Manitoba – February 1, 2021)

February 2, 2021

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/

A Manitoba metal recycling company is on the hook after buying hundreds of thousands of pounds of stolen nickel worth millions of dollars, a judge ruled.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Shauna McCarthy awarded mining company Vale Canada Ltd. a summary judgment against Urbanmine, Inc., which purchased and resold 483,396 pounds of nickel stolen from a compound in Thompson, Man., over the course of nearly 10 months between July 2012 and May 2013.

In her decision on Aug. 27, 2020, McCarthy also awarded Vale a default judgment against the Schwartz Bros. construction company and a number of its employees, all but one of whom pled guilty to criminal charges related to the thefts and were ordered to pay restitution.

Brumadinho dam collapse could have been predicted weeks in advance – study – by Valentina Ruiz Leotaud (Mining.com – January 24, 2021)

January 25, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

The dam collapse at Vale’s (NYSE: VALE) Córrego do Feijão mining complex in Brazil, which killed almost 300 people two years ago, could have been foreseen with the right monitoring technology.

This is according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Nottingham and Durham University, who collaborated with Terra Motion and discovered that by applying satellite radar imaging InSAR to check for small ground movements in and around dams, it is possible to predict a dam burst.

Vale confirms multiple seismic events at Creighton Mine – by Jay Baxter and Marina Moore (CTV Northern Ontario – January 16, 2021)

January 18, 2021

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

SUDBURY — Earthquakes Canada has confirmed least two earthquakes in the Sudbury-area overnight originated from Creighton Mine.

Greater Sudbury lit-up social media Friday night to affirm the earthquakes that were felt by residents in the city’s south-end, Copper Cliff, Chelmsford, Valley, Flour Mill and New Sudbury areas.

In a media statement issued late Saturday morning, Vale confirmed multiple seismic events took place at the mine in the late evening hours of Jan. 15.