Vale S.A.

Hello everyone and thank you for joining Vale's second quarter 2026 conference call. First, I would like to briefly reinforce our strategic direction and ambition to create superior value for our shareholders. In this context, we have been consistently focused on our key priorities of operational excellence, disciplined capital allocation, and the advancement of highly accretive growth projects, particularly in copper and iron ore. Our objective is to build a business that is resilient through the cycle, competitive under different market environments, and well positioned to deliver sustainable returns. Despite the uncertainties that continue to shape the global landscape, I am very confident about Vale's future. And what gives me that confidence is not only the quality of our assets, but also the consistency in which our teams are executing and delivering results. Based on the strong performance in the first half of 2026, yesterday our board of directors approved $1.7 billion in dividends and interest on capital to be paid in September. The board also approved the extension of our share buyback program for up to 2.3% of our outstanding shares reflecting our positive view on Vale's long-term outlook and our continued commitment to delivering superior returns to our shareholders. Let me now turn to the highlights of the second quarter performance. We once again delivered solid year-on-year results across all commodities, reinforcing our confidence in achieving all production guidances for the year. In the particular case of VBM, we have now narrowed the guidance ranges for copper and nickel, implying higher midpoints on the back of continued strong operational performance in both businesses. Starting with Aionor in Q2, production reached the highest second quarter level since 2018, supported by the continued ramp-up of the Capanema and Vargem Grande projects, as well as the record output at SLM&D. Sales volumes also increased by 3% year-on-year. In copper, we delivered our strongest Q2 production in the last nine years, with a 6% E&E increase, while sales volumes grew 10% in the same period. This growth was driven by record second quarter output at Salobo and a very strong performance at Sossego. In nickel, we also achieved solid results. Production increased by 4% year-on-year, while sales volume grew 7%, supported by additional volumes from Nancy Puma and Voices Bay. Looking ahead, I would like to highlight two important milestones at Serra Sul that will further enhance the performance of this world-class asset. First, I am very pleased to announce the start-up of the Serra Sul Plus 20 project, with the commissioning of S11D's second long-distance conveyor belt in July. This project, which also includes mine and plant expansions, will provide greater operational flexibility to the site. Second, in the fourth quarter, we expect to start commissioning the Compact Crusher project, which is designed to address operational constraints related to jaspalite ore at the Serra Sul mine, helping improve production consistency and strengthen asset reliability. Together, these projects will deliver 20 million tons of incremental capacity at Serraçu, strengthening Vale's competitiveness and expanding our high-grade product portfolio. Turning now to our corporate growth story. Last year, we launched the new Carajás program, with the vision of accelerating the development of strategic projects in one of the world's most attractive mineral provinces. Today I am pleased to announce the earlier startup expected for the Baccaba project. Construction is progressing ahead of schedule, and as a result, Bacaba is now planning to begin commissioning in Q3 2027, significantly ahead of the original first half 2028 schedule. With 50,000 tons capacity, Bacaba is the first of six accretive growth projects that will support our ambition to double copper production to approximately 700,000 tons per year by 2035. Our second project, the Salobo course particle flotation, is expected to be formally announced soon and represents another important step in unlocking the potential of our unique endowment. As we continue to execute our project portfolio with below average capital intensity and compelling rates of returns, we believe investors will increasingly recognize the significant upside embedded in our copper platform. Before moving on to our financial performance, I would like to briefly talk about innovation, a key enabler of Vale's long-term strategy. As we've discussed throughout this presentation, our operational results and growth projects are the outcome of consistent execution and a relentless focus on performance. Having said that, we continue to focus on innovation and on developing new technologies that increase our efficiency, enhance safety, reduce environmental impact, and strengthen our competitiveness. This is our vision for the mining of the future, a strategic agenda built around five key pillars outlined here in this slide that will help shape Vale's journey. To provide greater transparency on this agenda, we recently published Vale's first research, development and innovation report, showcasing several initiatives that are already transforming the way we operate. Among them, I would highlight the progress we are making with the model plant in Itabira and our autonomous mining initiatives at Bruco II, Capa Nema and Serra Norte. which demonstrate how innovation is being translated into tangible operational gains. I encourage everyone to explore this report and learn more about how innovation supports our strategic agenda and creates opportunities across the businesses. With that, I'll hand over to Marcelo Bacci to discuss our financial performance. I'll return later for my closing remarks before the Q&A session. Marcelo, please.

Thanks, Gustavo, and good morning, everyone. In the second quarter of 2026, our pro forma EBITDA reached $4.1 billion, representing a strong 19% increase year on year, despite continued pressure from external cost factors. This performance reflects another quarter of solid execution across our businesses, supported by higher volumes, improved commercial performance, and better price realization. At Valley Base Metals, EBITDA totaled $1.3 billion, increasing nearly 80% year-on-year. This performance was driven by stronger realized prices and solid operational execution. In Aronor, EBITDA exceeded $3 billion, supported by higher realized prices and increased sales volumes. This positive effect more than compensated for the higher freight costs and the appreciation of the Brazilian Real. Overall, this quarter's numbers demonstrate the resilience of our business and our ability to consistently deliver a solid operational performance, even in a more challenging external environment. Now, let me turn to the details of our cost performance. In the quarter, our C1 cash cost, excluding third-party purchases, was $24.1 per ton, an increase of 9% year-on-year. The all-in costs reached $61.6 per ton, 18% higher year-on-year. The higher costs were mainly driven by external factors. The appreciation of the BRL impacted both C1 costs and expenses, while diesel and freight costs also increased during the quarter. As I mentioned in our last call, while external variables can introduce volatility into our cost structure, they also reinforce the importance of our relentless focus on productivity and operational excellence. The results of our efficiency program, combined with higher production from low-cost assets such as S11D, demonstrate that we're moving in the right direction. Together, these initiatives contributed to 50 cents per ton reduction in C1 costs year-on-year, strengthening our structural competitiveness throughout the cycle. In addition, our hedging program helped reduce the impact of external variables in our results. Our Brent oil hedging program resulted in approximately $100 million benefit, equivalent to $1.6 per ton. Considering this effect, our oiling costs were $60 per ton. If oil price volatility persists, this strategy will continue to provide cash flow support in the second half of 2026. Given the increased volatility in external variables, we have decided to update our 2026 R&R C1 and all-in cost guidance. The revised guidances reflect an average BRL exchange rate of 5.13 compared to 5.60 in our previous guidance, as well as an average Brent oil price of $86 per barrel versus 68 previously assumed. As a result, we now expect C1 cash costs to range between $22.5 and $23.5 per ton in 2026, compared with our previous guidance of $20 to $21.5 per ton. Roughly 70% of this increase is explained by the combined impact of external effects, such as FX and diesel costs. In the same way, we're also updating the all-in-cost guidance to $58 to $62 per ton, compared with the previous range of $52 to $56 per ton, with around $5 per ton related to oil, FX, and iron ore premiums. That said, despite this more challenging external backdrop, we remain fully focused on the variables within our control. Our teams continue to advance a robust pipeline of efficiency and productivity initiatives across the businesses. These efforts are targeting further gains in asset utilization, maintenance optimization, supply chain efficiency, and procurement. While these initiatives do not fully offset the impact of FX and oil prices in the short term, they are essential to improving our structural cost position over time. Combined with the ramp-up of our low-cost assets, they will continue to strengthen our competitiveness throughout the cycle and support long-term value creation for our shareholders. Turning now to valley-based metals, both copper and nickel delivered another quarter of strong cost performance, reflecting solid operational execution across our assets and a more supportive market environment. In copper, hauling costs reached a negative $300 per ton, an improvement of $1,700 per ton year-on-year, once again in negative territory. In nickel, hauling costs declined 17% year-on-year, reaching $10,300 per ton. Looking ahead, we expect Valley-based metals to continue delivering operational improvements beyond the contribution from by-product prices. As a result, we are lowering our cost guidance for the year. For copper, we now expect all-in costs to range between $0 and $500 per ton, compared to our previous guidance of $1,000 to $1,500 per ton. For nickel, we now expect all-in costs to range between $10,000 and $11,500 per ton, compared to our previous guidance of $12,000 to $13,500 per ton. This revised range reflects the operational progress we continue to deliver and reinforces the value creation potential for volley-based metals. With that, let me move on to our cash generation. Our free cash flow totaled $1.5 billion in the quarter, supported by our strong EBITDA performance and by the settlement of our currency and oil hedging programs, which contributed a positive cash impact of $337 million. CAPEX totaled $1.1 billion, reflecting our continued capital discipline and the benefits of the efficiency initiatives we have implemented across the businesses. As Gustavo mentioned, consistent with our commitment to shareholder returns, our board of directors approved $1.7 billion in dividends and interest on capital to be paid in September. In addition, we bought back $140 million in shares during the quarter, bringing total repurchases to $214 million year-to-date. Building on this track record, our board also approved a new share buyback program of up to 100 million shares over the next 18 months, equivalent to 2.3% of our outstanding shares. These decisions reflect our confidence in the strength of our business, our ability to generate cash throughout the cycle, and our continued commitment to creating value for shareholders. With that, let's move to the next slide. Driven by our solid cash flow generation, Expanded Net Debt closed the quarter at $16.7 billion, a reduction of over $1.1 billion from the previous quarter. We expect Expanded Net Debt to continue converging toward our reference level of $15 billion over the coming quarters. As we approach that level, we create additional flexibility for shareholder remuneration while maintaining the financial discipline and balance sheet strength. Before handing back the call to Gustavo, I would like to reinforce that we remain focused on strengthening our competitiveness across all of our businesses. Despite the external headwinds facing the industry, our priorities remain unchanged. We continue to advance productivity and efficiency initiatives, improve asset performance, optimize our cost structure and maintain a disciplined approach to capital allocation. Together, these actions are strengthening Vale's position through the cycle, supporting consistent cash generation and reinforcing our ambition to lead value creation in the mining industry. Gustavo, please.

Thanks, Marcelo. Before we move to the Q&A session, let me go over the key takeaways from today's call. First, we continue to deliver strong operational performance across our businesses, achieving record production and higher sales volumes, reinforcing our confidence in meeting our guidances for the year. Second, we are accelerating our pipeline of high-return growth projects, with the start-up of Serra Sul Plus 20 project and the earlier as start-up expected for Bacaba. This demonstrates our ability to advance initiatives that will support Vale's growth and generate significant value to our shareholders. Third, we remain focused on enhancing cost competitiveness across the company by improving operational reliability, increasing efficiency, and strengthening resilience through the cycle. At Vale-Based Metals, we continue to capture the benefits of the CarVault. Operational performance is improving consistently, delivering gains not only in production but also in costs. I am very confident that we will continue to make meaningful progress over the coming quarters as we build a leading global energy transition metals business. Fourth, we continue to advance our mining of the future agenda, leveraging innovation and technology to improve safety, productivity, and sustainability, while creating new opportunities across the businesses. And finally, our commitment to shareholder returns remain unchanged. Supported by solid operational results and a strong balance sheet, we continue to allocate capital responsibly, through dividends and share buybacks, while also investing in Vale's future. Now let's open for the Q&A session. Thank you.