[third quarter results] Vale's cobalt production decreased by 12% in the first three quarters compared with the same period last year. Q3 decreased by 21% compared with the previous quarter.

SMM10, 17 October: on October 15, Vale (Vale S.A) announced its results for the third quarter of 2018, which showed that Vale's cobalt production totaled 1028 metric tons in the third quarter of 2018, down 21 percent from the second quarter. In the first three quarters, the total volume decreased by 12.1% compared with the previous quarter, mainly due to the decline in the production of Sudbury and Voisey's Bay.

Vale's main cobalt production sites are Sudbury, Thompson, Voisey's Bay and VNC.

Output of cobalt plants in the third quarter:

Sudbury: produced 83 metric tons of cobalt in the third quarter, down 46.8 percent from 156 metric tons in the second quarter, mainly due to regular maintenance outages at Sudbury in the third quarter.

Thompson: produced 37 metric tons in the third quarter, down 33.9 percent from a month earlier, mainly due to Thompson's transition to integrated mines and regular maintenance shutdowns in the third quarter.

Voisey's Bay: produced 371 metric tons in the third quarter, down 22.5 percent from 494 metric tons in the second quarter, due to regular maintenance of Changgang (Long Harbour) and consumption of all Voisey's Bay products in Sudbury. Production was adversely affected in the third quarter. The cobalt resources of Voisey's Bay are only produced in the form of cobalt round (cobalt rounds) in Changgang Refinery.

VNC: production was 460 metric tons in the third quarter, down 6.9 percent from a month earlier, and production in the third quarter was also adversely affected due to lower mine delivery and lower cobalt grade in VNC. In order to increase the value of cobalt in the current market situation, particularly with regard to electric vehicles, the company is currently reviewing VNC's mining plan.

Production from other sources of cobalt was 77 tons in the third quarter of 2018, down 34.7 percent from a month earlier. Cobalt production from other sources is calculated based on the cobalt content of the external feed consumed in the process and also includes PTVI raw materials processed through the Clydach cobalt refinery after some of the feed is sent to the Port Colborne nickel refinery for treatment.