Brazilian miner Vale posted a net profit of $4.09 billion for the second quarter of 2022, against $4.46 billion achieved in the previous quarter and $8.15 billion achieved in the second quarter of 2021.

The decline reflects mainly the lower iron ore fines prices over the period, which were partially compensated by the increased volumes sold in the first half of 2022.

According to the company, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and debt (EBITDA) for the first quarter of 2022, $6.374 billion, were positively affected by $1.376 billion through increased sales and negatively affected by $1.805 billion due to the price decline, and by 110 $1 million due to exchange rate changes, $175 million in freight rates and $126 million in other costs and expenses, resulting in an EBITDA of $5.534 billion for the second quarter of 2022.

During the second quarter of 2022, the average realized price of the iron ore fines was $113.3/mt, a decline of $28.1/mt from the first quarter of 2022, including a lower premium derived from higher silica contents in the mix of ores.

For pellets, the average realized price during the second quarter of 2022 was $201.3/mt, $6.6/mt higher than in the previous quarter.

During the second quarter of 2022, Vale produced 74.1 million mt of iron ore fines and 8.67 million mt of pellets, an increase of 17 per cent and 25.1 per cent from the previous quarter, respectively.