Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (widely known as CVRD prior to 2007) (in English, "
Doce River Valley Company") was founded in
Itabira,
Minas Gerais, by the Brazilian Federal Government on 1 June 1942. One year later the Vitória a Minas railroad was inaugurated. In 1966, the company inaugurated in
Espírito Santo the
Port of Tubarão, which was to become the most important port for CVRD and is still used to export
iron ore mined from the
Iron Quadrangle in
Minas Gerais. In 1974, Vale became the world's biggest exporter of iron ore, a title which it still holds today. In 1985, Vale started to explore the
Carajás Mine in the state of
Pará just after the gauge Carajás railroad was opened. In 1986, Ponta Madeira port terminal, which is still used to export iron ore mined at the
Carajás Mine, was inaugurated in the state of
Maranhão. In March 2017, Vale SA chose a
commodities industry veteran, Fabio Schvartsman, as
chief executive officer. Schvartsman was
CEO of
Klabin SA,
Brazil's largest paper and cardboard producer, for the previous six years.
Privatization in 1997 In May 1997, despite protests by Vale employees and some politicians, the
Brazilian Government auctioned a 41.73% interest in the company, which was sold for R$3.34 billion (US$3.13 billion). The largest interest purchased was a 16.3% stake purchased by Brazilian steel company
Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional.
Sale of wood pulp businesses In 2001, Vale sold its Cenibra wood pulp business to
Aracruz and
Votorantim Celulose e Papel jointly for US$670.5 million to focus on mining and logistics. In 2002, Vale sold 100,000 acres of land and the eucalyptus forests thereon related to its wood pulp business for R$137 million.
Sale of steel businesses In 2000, the company sold its stake in Açominas to
Gerdau in exchange for preferred shares in
Gerdau. In 2001, Vale sold its stake in
Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional for R$520 million. In 2004, Vale sold its stake in CST to
Arcelor for US$415.1 million. In 2006, Vale sold its interest in Siderar to
Ternium for US$107.5 million. In 2006, the company sold 5,362,928 shares in
Usiminas for or R$378.6 million. In 2007, the company sold the majority of its stake in
Usiminas. In 2009, the company sold its remaining stake in
Usiminas.
Sale of coal businesses In 2014, Vale announced the sale of coal assets in
Mozambique to
Mitsui in a $950 million transaction. In 2015, Vale's Integra coal mine located in Australia's Hunter Valley in
New South Wales was sold to
Glencore and
Bloomfield in a complex multi-party deal.
Acquisitions of Brazilian iron ore companies In May 2000, the company acquired Sociomex, owner of the
Gongo Sôco Mine, with proven reserves of approximately 75 million tonnes. In May 2000, the company also acquired a controlling interest in Samitri, one of the biggest pelletizing companies of Brazil. In April 2001, the company acquired Ferteco, then the third largest Brazilian producer of iron ore, with a production capacity of 15 million tonnes per year. In 2006, the company acquired Rio Verde Mineração for $47 million. ====Acquisition of
Caemi and acquisition and partial disposition of MBR==== On 1 April 2000, Vale offered to pay
Mitsui US$277 million for 50% of the common shares and US$150 million for 40% of the preferred stock in
Caemi. Caemi owned MBR, Brazil's second largest iron ore producer, mining over 60 million tonnes per year. The acquisition was approved by European regulators subject to conditions. In September 2003, Vale purchased an additional stake in Caemi from Mitsui for US$426.4 million. On 23 January 2006, the company announced a
stock swap merger to acquire the interest Caemi that it did not already own. In 2007, increased its ownership in MBR by purchasing additional interests from
Mitsui for US$114.5 million. Also in 2007, Vale announced that it will lease the shares of MBR that it did not already own from their 7 Japanese shareholders for a 30-year period. The agreement required the company to pay a total of US$60.5 million in 2007 and US$48.1 million annually for a 30-year period and gave it total control of MBR. In 2015, Vale announced the sale of a 36.4% interest in MBR for R$4 billion. ===Diversification into
non-ferrous metals,
coal and
phosphate=== In 2001, Vale increased its copper mining operations by purchasing the Sossego mine in Carajas, in northern Brazil, for $48.5 million. In 2005, Vale acquired
Canico Resource, owner of a
nickel mine in Brazil, after increasing its offer to $865 million. In October 2006, Vale acquired Canadian-based nickel producer
Inco for $18.9 billion, including $17.7 billion in cash and the assumption of $1.2 billion in debt. To gain approval from Canadian authorities, Vale promised to continue investments in Canada and not lay off people for 3 years after closing. In 2007, Vale made a major entry into coal mining by acquiring AMCI Holdings Australia for AU$835 million. In 2010, Vale launched a public offer to acquire fertilizer and copper producer Paranapanema. In 2010, Vale acquired a controlling interest in Fosfertil via a series of transactions. In June 2011, Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram were killed at the 3,000 foot level of the
Frood Mine near
Sudbury, Ontario. In 2011, the company sold its aluminum business to Norsk Hydro in a US$5.27 billion transaction. Norsk Hydro thus became a truly integrated aluminium company. This gave Hydro the world's largest
alumina refinery and aimed to "secure raw materials for more than a hundred years of aluminum production". Hydro gained a large
bauxite supply, including control of the
Paragominas mine, one of the largest bauxite mines in the world. It also gained large
alumina refining and aluminum production capacity, including a 51 percent stake in the
Albras aluminum plant and 91 percent ownership of Alunorte, then the world's largest alumina refinery and now the largest outside China. In July 2012, Vale sold its ferro-manganese plants in
Europe to
Glencore for $160 million. In 2014, Vale sold its interest in Fosbrasil S.A., a manufacturer of phosphate-based products to
Israel Chemicals Ltd for $52 million. In 2015, the company announced that it would sell a 25% interest in gold produced from its Salobo mine, located in Brazil, to
Silver Wheaton for US$900 million. In 2015, the company entered into a
letter of intent to sell bauxite assets to
Norsk Hydro. On 26 November 2015, Vale announced that it planned to reduce its
budget for
capital expenditures from US$8 billion in 2015 to US$6.2 billion in 2016, with further reductions to US$4–5 billion by 2018. In May 2023 it was announced by
Eduardo Bartolomeo that
Mark Cutifani would be appointed as Chair of the new
Vale Base Metals (VBM) subsidiary in a spin-off event. Vale was looking to divest from its tar baby, as early as December 2022. At the time VBM was a supplier to
Tesla and
General Motors. In early 2023, the parent company earned 80% of its profits in its South American iron mines, and the balance from its Base Metals group. == Business trends ==