 | Vale Ltd. employees in Sudbury are bracing for possible layoffs after viewing a company video they say warned that the Brazil-based mining giant could soon be making cuts. Vale operates five mines in Sudbury, as well as a mill, a smelter, a refinery and employs nearly 4,000 workers. It mines nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group metals, gold and silver. Last month, Vale said it would seek out fresh copper mining options and stop expanding nickel production capacity after second-quarter net income plunged. |
 | Net income tumbled 99 per cent to $16 million from $1.1 billion a year earlier, far below an average estimate of $421 million. The world's largest iron ore miner kept making slow progress on cutting net debt, which slipped 3 per cent in the three months through June to $22.12 billion - still a far cry from a target of $15 billion to $17 billion by year end. Fabio Schvartsman, who took over as CEO in May, said the company was aiming for $15 billion in net debt in 2018, adding that a company reliant on volatile commodity prices should ideally not be carrying debt at all. |
