Brazilian miner Vale saw its second-quarter net profit jump to $2.77bn on the back of higher iron ore sales, triple the earnings in the same period last year despite a 21% rise in iron ore shipping costs.

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Iron ore, its biggest segment, increased by 7%, leading the company to maintain its goal of reaching the higher end of its production target for 2024 at 320m tonnes, as previously reported.

The company said it spent $1.11bn on maritime freight in its iron ore fines business during the quarter, a rise from $920m in the same period of 2023.

Eduardo Bartolomeo, chief executive of Vale, said: “Our strong operational performance continues quarter after quarter. In iron ore solutions, we achieved record-high second quarter production since 2018.”

Its performance was helped by activity at the world’s largest iron ore mine, S11D in Serra dos Carajas northern Brazil.

While higher volumes pushed Vale’s shipping spending higher, the mining giant said its focus on long-term contracts of affreightment allowed it to decrease its shipping costs on a per-tonne basis.

Vale indicated that its iron ore fines freight costs reached $19 per tonne during the period, $6.8 per tonne lower than the Brazil-China C3 route average in the second quarter.

The C3 capesize route on the Baltic Exchange, covering the route from Tubarao, Brazil, to the Chinese port of Qingdao, was at $24.69 per tonne on Friday, down from a peak of $32.63 per tonne recorded earlier this month.

The mining giant’s Ebitda slipped to $3.99bn in the April to June period, down 6% year on year, mainly due to higher freight costs and concentration of maintenance activities, the company said.

Vale also indicated it is advancing in its key growth projects, Vargem Grande and Capanema, which will add 30m tonnes of iron ore capacity in the next 12 months.

Eric Priante Martin contributed to this story.

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