RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian iron-ore miner Vale cut its forecast for 2020 capital expenditure on Tuesday and warned that the novel coronavirus could hinder medium-term production, underlining the impact of the outbreak on the labor-intensive mining industry.
In a securities filing in which it divulged worse-than-expected first quarter results, Vale warned that ongoing postponements to maintenance programs could have a significant effect on some operations.
Vale plans to cut its capital expenditure this year to $4.6-billion from $5-billion, as the coronavirus has made some construction and maintenance work unsafe. It added that more downward capital spending revisions were possible, but that such revisions should not be considered savings, as the expenditures may be carried over to 2021.
