BATTERY BOOM HAS VALE MULLING BASE METAL SPINOFF

Vale SA, the world’s second-largest iron ore producer, is exploring spinning off of its base metals business as the global transition to clean energy and transport spurs demand for copper and nickel. “We are in a phase of studying — analyzing the possibility,” chief executive Eduardo De Salles Bartolomeo said Tuesday. The Rio de Janeiro-based miner, which is recovering from an iron-ore tailings disaster in 2019, continues to trade at a discount to its Australian-focused rivals BHP Group and Rio Tinto Group. Housing base metals operations in Canada, Brazil and Indonesia in a separate company may help unlock value as the company expands copper and nickel output and exits coal. Vale, already the top commercial producer of mined nickel, sees an opportunity to grow in the electric-vehicle supply chain.