Vale is best known as one of the world’s biggest producers of iron ore from its sprawling Brazilian operations — but its chief executive wants to change that.
For Eduardo Bartolomeo, being seen as a “one geography, one mineral company” is dangerous and Vale should be trying to highlight the value of its industrial metals business, which he says has the potential to be a key supplier of battery materials to the North American car industry.
Achieving that will be no easy task. To supply Tesla, Ford, General Motors and others with the necessary copper, nickel and cobalt to scale up production of electric vehicles, Bartolomeo will have to transform the performance of the misfiring metals division.