São Paulo, February 24th (Argus) - The multi-metal mining giant Vale will invest 3.5 billion US dollars from 2026 to 2030 to further develop its copper resources in the Carajás region of northern Brazil. Vale will invest 300 million US dollars in 2026, 400 million US dollars in 2027, 800 million US dollars in 2028, 900 million US dollars in 2029, and 1.1 billion US dollars in 2030. The Carajás mining province of Vale includes its flagship mine Salobo, the smaller Sossego mining site, and the Bacaba project.
The Bacaba project is a future copper mine that is undergoing environmental approval, and it will also be considered in this investment. In 2025, the copper output of Carajás reached 293,100 tons, accounting for 77% of the mine's global copper production. This investment was disclosed in a securities filing document and is in line with the estimate of the Brazilian Mining Institute. The institute pointed out that during this period, copper will receive the most investment among all key minerals, reaching 8.6 billion US dollars. Vale plans to increase its copper production by nearly double by 2035 and expand its capacity by 80,000 tons per year in 2029.
