Vale Base Metals, a subsidiary of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) is set to increase its total minerals reserves and resources in both Canada and Brazil by over 20% by the end of 2027, according to new reports.
Vale Base Metals’ copper reserves and resources increased by 6% in 2025 to 53 million tonnes, while nickel reserves and resources increased 13% in the same year to 14 million tonnes.
VBM notes that this growth, alongside the growth of the company’s other polymetallic assets including cobalt, platinum, palladium, and gold, will significantly strengthen the company’s organic growth.
Chief Technical Officer Chris McCleave says that strengthening geological models and drill work has supported this resource growth and reserve replacement across the company’s portfolio.
“We doubled our copper drilling intensity in Brazil’s Carajás District, one of the most prospective copper districts in the world, and we are aiming to double it again in 2026,” McCleave says.
“We also increased productivity, delivering a 34% reduction in per unit cost.”
CEO Shaun Usmar has also commented publicly noting the strong leadership team who have “done an incredible job with our exploration and increased mineral inventory last year and dramatically evolved our project portfolio”.
Vale Base Metals is focused on advancing exploration across its major mineral districts in 2026, focusing on copper growth through near-term mine extensions, satellite deposits, and down-plunge continuity.
Key priorities for the year ahead include 120,000m of drilling planned in the Carajás region and drilling across the Sossego Mining Complex, with a plan to go underground potentially in 2027.
Drilling will also continue at Bacaba and Cristalino in the South Hub, Salobo and 118, Alemão, Sudbury, and Voisey’s Bay.
Vale Base Metals is focused on becoming a global supplier of the critical minerals needed to shape the world of tomorrow.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Vale Base Metals
