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HSBC upgrades Brazilian mining giant on cost-cut benefits The Brazilian miner received a buy recommendation this week when analysts at HSBC Holdings Plc upgraded the stock, citing cost reductions and quality improvements to mined material that can help boost premiums. [Extracted from the article]

Vale SA reported record iron-ore output, beating analyst estimates, as the world's biggest producers of the steel-making ingredient continue defying a collapse in prices by expanding. "An iron-ore price recovery would likely have to be demand rather than supply driven", UBS Group AG analysts Andreas Bokkenheuser and Marcio Farid said in a research note dated Sunday. [Extracted from the article]

The Rio de Janeiro-based miner will join rival Rio Tinto Group in boosting production at a time prices for the mineral used in steel head toward a third year of declines. London-based Rio said Friday that third-quarter iron-ore production rose 12 percent after expanding infrastructure in Western Australia and boosting mine capacity. To contact the reporter on this story:Juan Pablo Spinetto in Rio de Janeiro at +55-21-3956-2519 orjspinetto@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story:James Attwood at +56-2-2487-4019 orjattwood3@bloomberg.netMillie Munshi. [Extracted from the article]

Iron-ore giant cut 2015 dividend by $500m; shares advance "Unless we see a major bounce-back in commodity prices or substantial divestments, we keep the view of a zero dividend policy, whereas 2017 could be the year of further dividends payment". [Extracted from the article]

Vale SA boosted iron-ore production last quarter to the second-highest ever for the company, exceeding analysts' estimates and worsening a supply glut that saw prices of the steelmaking ingredient collapse. Vale's higher iron-ore production follows a similar strategy of BHP and Rio Tinto, which also increased output in the past quarter amid capacity expansions. [Extracted from the article]

Ebitda is now forecast at $3.1 billion to $4.6 billion based on a $14,500 to $21,000 a ton nickel price scenario and a $5,800 to $6,800 copper price outlook. Vale will only go ahead with the IPO if nickel and copper prices reach "appropriate" levels, Investor Relations Director Rogerio Nogueira said June 24, echoing similar comments from company executives since December. [Extracted from the article]

The Rio de Janeiro-based miner is moving to trim low-quality output as it focuses on boosting profit amid what it sees as an oversupplied market in 2015, and one that will probably be in surplus next year, Poppinga said. The company said in April it was considering cutting output by 30 million tons, and the reduction announced Monday is part of that plan, Poppinga said, adding that the company still seeks to reach its output target of 340 million tons in 2015. [Extracted from the article]

China plans to expand ports to accommodate ships over 400,000 tons in a move that would end a threat to the logistics strategy of iron-ore miner Vale SA. The green-light for Valemax vessels to berth in China "is reassuring" for the company, Banco BTG Pactual SA analysts Leonardo Correa and Caio Ribeiro said. [Extracted from the article]

The sales are generating enough income to cover Vale's waste management costs in Brazil, said Marcio Valente, the miner's global manager of sustainable waste disposal. Vale last year made 83 million reais from the sale of waste, 76 percent of which ended up being recycled, Valente said. [Extracted from the article]

The Amsterdam-based commodity trader and the Abu Dhabi wealth fund bought a controlling stake in the company developing the port in Rio de Janeiro state last year from a venture of former billionaire Eike Batista, who envisioned the project. "It's a strategically sensible decision to terminate the current port-handling contract with the Sudeste Port, especially in light of depressed iron-ore prices", Leonardo Correa, a Banco BTG Pactual SA analyst, said in a note to clients Monday. [Extracted from the article]

The global iron-ore market is set to tighten in the second half of the year as China imports more and produces less, according to the biggest miner, Vale SA. Chinese imports of the steel-making ingredient will increase with domestic production down by about 200 million metric tons after prices tumbled 60 percent from a 2013 peak, Vale Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira said at a Rio de Janeiro conference organized by Fundacao Getulio Vargas. [Extracted from the article]

The world's biggest iron ore miners are right to press on with expansions into an oversupplied market as reining in supply growth would hurt efficiency and be hard to coordinate, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The biggest miners should slow their expansions as the signal there will be ever-increasing amounts of ore available even at lower prices is wrong, Barnett told Bloomberg in April. [Extracted from the article]

Vale SA, the world's largest iron-ore producer, is considering cutting output from its most expensive mines after a global supply glut caused prices to plummet. Vale won't cut production unless iron-ore prices drop below $50 a ton, according to Christopher LaFemina, an analyst at Jefferies Group LLC in New York. [Extracted from the article]

Short interest in American depositary receipts from the world's largest iron-ore producer jumped to a record 27.4 percent of shares outstanding Monday, according to data compiled by London-based Markit and Bloomberg. China, which accounts for about half of Vale's shipments and for more than two-thirds of global iron-ore imports, has set a 2015 economic expansion goal of about 7 percent, the lowest in more than 15 years. [Extracted from the article]

A global supply glut, combined with slowing Chinese demand, has led to a collapse of iron-ore prices, forcing high-cost producers from Brazil to Canada to shut capacity at the mines. While the lower prices have dried up financing for iron-ore projects worldwide, Ferrous still has a possibility of securing funding for its Viga mine expansion this year, Nicolato said. [Extracted from the article]

Vale SA, the world's largest iron-ore producer, reported a second consecutive quarterly loss as prices fell and Brazil's weakening currency increased debt costs. While a declining currency in Brazil and Canada helps Vale cut expenses at its main operations, it boosts the cost of servicing dollar-denominated debt. [Extracted from the article]

Vale SA, the world's largest iron-ore producer, will reduce dividends more than analysts estimated this year as prices for the steel-making ingredient are expected to hover near six-year lows. The analysts' note had a $2 billion "floor" dividend payment forecast for Vale. [Extracted from the article]

All Ore, whose 2009 listing made it the last iron-ore company to start trading on the Sao Paulo stock exchange, said it's abandoning commodities to focus instead in the beauty and health-care market. Iron-ore producers have canceled or suspended 22 mining projects since July as prices plunged to a five-year low, meaning 140 million metric tons of new capacity that had been scheduled to come online in the next few years won't, a Bloomberg Intelligence report said Dec. 23. [Extracted from the article]

While asset sales and cost cutting mean the world's largest iron-ore producer's ability to pay dividends this year and next is assured, 2016 payments are at risk if iron-ore prices continue dropping, according to Citigroup and UBS AG. While future payouts will depend ultimately on iron-ore prices, in the most likely scenario Citigroup's Hacking still expects Vale to generate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, of at least $16 billion per year, enough for the company to sustain its dividend levels. [Extracted from the article]

Brazil, the world's second-largest iron-ore exporter, said shipments of the steelmaking raw material jumped to the highest in at least nine years as Vale SA boosted output. Brazil's iron ore was exported at an average of $53.3 a ton in December, down from $100.80 a year earlier. [Extracted from the article]

About 50 million metric tons a year of Brazilian iron-ore output would be unprofitable at prices that last week fell below $84 a ton for the first time since 2009, Goldman analysts led by Marcelo Aguiar said in a research note today. Only Rio de Janeiro-based Vale, the world's largest iron-ore producer, would generate positive operating cash flow in Brazil at current prices, Goldman also said in the note. [Extracted from the article]

Vale SA dropped the most since April, capping the longest losing streak in eight months, as slumping iron-ore prices dimmed earnings prospects of the world's biggest producer. The steelmaking ingredient's price decline, combined with weaker demand from its main client China, is hitting Vale shares, said Elad Revi, an analyst at brokerage Spinelli. [Extracted from the article]

MMX Mineracao & Metalicos SA, the mining unit of former billionaire Eike Batista, will temporarily stop operations at its only producing mine as it seeks to avoid bankruptcy protection amid lower metal prices. "The necessity of the collective vacation and temporary stop of the production activities at the Serra Azul Unit is a consequence of the significant and prolonged decline of the iron-ore price", MMX said in the statement. MMX is reviewing its business plan to bolster cash as iron-ore prices decline. [Extracted from the article]