SAO PAULO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Iron ore production of

Brazilian miner Vale rose to 336.1 million metric

tons in 2025, the company posted on Tuesday, marking ‌the first

time since 2018 that Vale's output surpasses that of ​rival Rio

Tinto's Pilbara operations.

Vale production rose 2.6% last ‍year from 2024, compared to the

company's ⁠latest projection made ⁠in December of around 335

million metric tons. In the fourth ‌quarter of 2025, output stood

at ​90.4 million tons, up 6% year-on-year.

Vale lost the position of world's largest iron ⁠ore producer in

in 2019 ‍to Anglo-Australian ​rival Rio Tinto, following the

collapse of a dam in the Brazilian city of Brumadinho, which

killed over ‍250 people and triggered a safety review of the

firm's projects.

However, Vale has been scaling up its iron ore production in

the last few years, and in 2025 saw its highest output since

2018. ​Chief ‍Executive Gustavo Pimenta has said the firm is

aiming to regain the title of world's largest ​iron ore

producer.

Rio Tinto reported last week a 2025 iron ore production of 327.3

million metric tons, extracted in its entirety from its Pilbara

mine - its flagship production site for the steelmaking

material. When including its Canadian operations, total iron ​ore

output reached 336.6 million tons.

Vale said its iron ore sales rose 2.5% in 2025, to 314.4 million

tons.

(Reporting by Andre Romani ‍and Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo,

Editing by Iñigo Alexander)