Brazilian mining giant Vale posted a net profit of $3.9 billion for the third quarter Thursday, continuing its rebound from the coronavirus pandemic and a deadly dam collapse in 2019.

The company's profit was up 34 percent from the third quarter of 2020 ($2.9 billion), though it fell shy of the $7.6-billion profit reported for the second quarter.

Vale said that was due partly to a slide in iron ore prices triggered by China cutting steel production.

Brazilian mining giant Vale's profit was up 34 percent in the third quarter of 2021 from the third quarter of 2020 ($2.9 billion), though it fell shy of the $7.6-billion profit reported for the second quarter
Brazilian mining giant Vale's profit was up 34 percent in the third quarter of 2021 from the third quarter of 2020 ($2.9 billion), though it fell shy of the $7.6-billion profit reported for the second quarter AFP / DOUGLAS MAGNO

A two-month strike at Vale's mining complex in Sudbury, Ontario also had an impact, causing a plunge in production of nickel derivatives in the third quarter, the company said.

Vale is rebounding from the back-to-back blows of the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2019 collapse of a mine-waste dam in Brumadinho, in southeastern Brazil, which killed 270 people.

The company said Thursday it had reached an agreement to pay damages to 11,400 people, for a total of 2.7 billion reais (around $490 million).

Coronavirus