Vale S.A.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Vale's third quarter 2026 earnings call. This conference is being recorded and the replay will be available on our website at vale.com. The presentation is also available for download in English and Portuguese from our website. To listen to the call in Portuguese, please press the globe icon on the lower right side of your Zoom screen and then choose to enter the Portuguese room. Then select mute original audio so that you won't hear the English version in the background. We would like to inform that all participants are currently in a listen-only mode for the presentations. Further instructions will be provided before we begin the question and answer session of our call. We would like to advise that forward-looking statements may be provided in this presentation, including Vale's expectations about future events or results, encompassing those matters listed in the respective presentation. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. So, with information on factors that may lead to results different from those forecast by Vale, Please consult the report, Valley Files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Imobiliários, CVM, and, in particular, the factors discussed under forward-looking statements and risk factors in Valley's annual report on Formula 20F. With us today are Mr. Gustavo Pimenta, CEO, Mr. Marcelo Bacci, Executive Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations, Mr. Rogério Nogueira, Executive Vice President, Commercial and Development, Mr. Carlos Medeiros, Executive Vice President of Operations, and Mr. Sean Osmar, CEO of Valid Base Metals. Now, I will turn the conference over to Mr. Gustavo Pimenta. Sir, you may now begin.

Hello everyone and thank you for joining Vale's third quarter 2026 conference call. Let me start by saying how proud I am of the progress our teams have been able to make on our strategic priorities, even under very volatile market conditions. We continue to consistently execute on our plans with discipline, focusing on operational excellence and unlocking the enormous potential of our endowment and unique supply chain. All these actions are translating into tangible results, protecting our margins and helping us build a more resilient and valuable company. Let me now turn to the highlights of the quarter. Starting with iron ore, production declined 6% year-on-year, mainly reflecting Serra Norte's performance. Despite lower production, sales remained solid at 86.3 million tons. Slightly above last year, supported by strong performance at S11D and the Southeastern System, along with the sale of inventories built in previous quarters. At Serranote, which has been operating since 1985, production has gradually declined in recent years as run-of-mine availability has decreased. This reflects the natural evolution of the ore body, together with the operational constraints in Ares, In addition, the quarter's mine plan was impacted by a lower quality section of the ore body, which temporarily affected processing efficiency across our plants. We have taken a series of actions to mitigate these impacts, including the increased access to hematite ore in newly licensed areas, and expect these initiatives to increase ore availability and support year-on-year production growth in the fourth quarter. Pimenta, Marcelo Feriozzi Bacci We remain confident in our operational performance and, more importantly, in our ability to generate value for shareholders. Projects such as Capanema S11D Plus 20 and the Compact Crushing Plant are adding flexibility while improving the resilience of our portfolio. At the same time, we remain fully committed to our value over volume strategy. Our focus is not simply on producing more tons, but on delivering the right volumes at the right cost and quality to maximize value creation. On the next slide, I would like to spend a few minutes on freight and explain how our strategy has protected our business. The spot freight market rose sharply in 2026, affecting the entire iron ore industry. In this context, and in order to understand how our freight strategy has created substantial value, It is important to look at two main variables, the cost of the vessels, or time charter, and the cost of fuel, or bunker. Each has different market dynamics, and our initiatives address both. On the time charter side, our medium to long term vessel contracting strategy provides greater predictability and supports a more competitive cost base. Over the coming years, around 75% of Vale's shipping needs are covered by long-term contracts at fixed rates. Most of the remaining 25% is managed through shorter-term contracts, generally lasting one to two years. This structure provides flexibility. While limiting direct exposure to the spot market. For the fourth quarter, we are fully covered on our freight needs. And for 2027, we have already secured over 80%, giving us time and flexibility to capture opportunities for the remaining requirements. The fleet composition also provides an important advantage. Larger and more efficient vessels, including Valemax and Guaiba Max ships, consume less fuel per ton transported and operate at structurally lower cost. On the fuel side, our hedging program provides another layer of protection and reduces our exposure to fuel cost volatility. Marcelo will discuss this in more detail shortly. To put all of this into perspective, since the first quarter, spot freight rates on the Brazil-China route have increased by $12 per ton, while rates on the Australian-China route have risen by $4.9 per ton. Over the same period, Valis realized that freight costs increased by only $4.7 per ton. This shows that, despite the increase in spot freight rates, our relative margin position has been preserved. Altogether, our freight strategy is generating a total benefit of more than $3 billion vis-à-vis the spot market in 2026. Overall, the message is clear. The freight environment has become more challenging, But our scale and strategy provided meaningful protection and preserved our competitiveness. Turning now to base metals, I am very pleased with the progress we continued to make at VBM. Corporate production declined 6% year-on-year, while sales were 4% lower, reflecting the planned maintenance at Sossego, as expected. At the same time, Salobo delivered its highest third quarter production on record. This is a very positive result and reinforces the strength of our copper platform as we prepare for further growth. In nickel, production increased 6% while sales grew 16% year-on-year. The Sudbury Refinery delivered its highest quarterly output since the fourth quarter of 2013. On Sapuma also achieved its strongest third quarter performance, supported by the commissioning of the second furnace. Year to date, copper production has increased 4%, while nickel production has grown 8%. Based on these results, and on the operational performance we are already seeing in October, we are confident in reaching the upper half of the production guidance for both metals. In October, we also completed the Thompson transaction. Vale-based metals retained an 18.9% interest and secured a multi-year off-take agreement for nickel concentrate, allowing us to preserve strategic exposure while maintaining access to nickel units for our downstream assets. Looking ahead, we continue to advance our corporate growth strategy with the approval of the coarse particle flotation The project is part of the new Carajás program and will add 6 million tons per year to Salobo's ore processing capacity, bringing the total to 42 million tons. Once fully wrapped up, it is expected to add approximately 30,000 tons of copper per year, containing concentrate, as well as approximately 15,000 ounces of gold as a by-product. Start-up is expected in the first half of 2028. Together with Bacaba and our productivity initiatives in Canada, this project reinforces our confidence in achieving our production target of up to 500,000 tons of copper by 2030. We have also quadrupled our drilling meters in Carajás compared with two years ago. The results we are seeing give us even greater confidence in the copper potential, and we look forward to sharing more of this at our Valley Day in December. We believe Vale is well positioned to deliver above-average copper growth over the coming years. Much of this potential comes from brownfield opportunities that leverage our existing assets, infrastructure, and technical capabilities, allowing us to pursue growth with low capital intensity and attractive returns. This creates a strong foundation for long-term value creation. 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. Proforma EBITDA totaled $3.5 billion in the third quarter of 2026, 20% lower year-on-year. The decline mainly reflected external pressures on the iron ore business, including a 10% decline in realized prices, higher bunker costs, and the appreciation of the Brazilian real. At Valley Bees Metals, EBITDA reached 1.1 billion, increasing more than 60% year-on-year and representing 31% of Valley's EBITDA in the quarter. This solid performance was supported by higher realized prices across the portfolio, combined with solid and consistent operation execution, as Gustavo presented. Let's take a closer look at this quarter's details. Starting with iron ore, our C1 cash cost, excluding third-party purchases, was $23.1 per ton. This was 12% higher year-on-year and 4% lower quarter-on-quarter. The all-in cost was $60.4 per ton, increasing 21% year-on-year and declining 2% sequentially. The year-on-year increase reflected mostly a combination of currency and energy-related pressures. In the quarter, the stronger Brazilian real affected both the C1 and the all-in, while higher diesel and bunker fuel prices had an additional impact on operational costs and freight. Even in this more challenging environment, we expect both C1 and all-in costs to finish 2026 within their respective guidance ranges. Our hedging program continues to play an important role in managing this volatility. Including the cash benefit from the oil hedge, all in cost was $59 per ton in the quarter. At the same time, we are intensifying our focus on the factors that we can control. We recently launched a company-wide productivity program, structured around specific work streams across operations, procurement, maintenance, and logistics. The objective is not only to offset short-term pressures, We are targeting sustainable efficiency gains that can structurally improve our cost base. We will provide more details on first results and main opportunities at the Valley Day in December. Together with the ramp-up of lower-cost assets, these initiatives should strengthen valleys' position and improve competitiveness through the cycle. At valley-based metals, cost performance remains under control. In copper, all-in cost came at a negative $200 per ton, Improving by $1,200 per ton year-on-year. This result was supported by strong by-product revenues and lower unit expenses, even with the planned maintenance carried out during the quarter. Based on year-to-date performance, we expect copper all-in costs to finish 2026 near the lower end of the guidance range. The outcome will also depend on by-product prices during the fourth quarter. In nickel, awning cost was $14,600 per ton, 18% higher year-on-year. This increase was expected and mainly reflected planned maintenance at the Canadian operations. With these maintenance activities now completed, we expect nickel costs to decline in the fourth quarter and return to levels broadly in line with the second quarter. We also remain confident in delivering our 2026 micro-cost guidance of $10,000 to $11,500 per ton. Before moving to cash generation, let me provide more detail on our hedging program and how it supports the business. As discussed earlier, hedging plays an important role in managing market volatility. Our objective is not to predict market movements, but to reduce cash flow volatility, improve financial visibility, and protect the execution of our business plan. This strategy is already delivering tangible benefits. So far in 2026, our currency and oil hedges have generated over $700 million in cash benefits. Starting with Bunker Fuel, we have already hedged 67% of our expected 2027 consumption, maintaining a level of coverage broadly consistent with 2026. Our average hedge price stands at $78 per barrel on a Brent equivalent basis, through a combination of four contracts and zero cost callers. This gives us greater visibility on an important component of our freight costs as we enter 2027. On currency, our strategy has traditionally focused on protecting BRL-denominated debt and reparation commitments, while we also hedge a portion of our operation expenses in reais. So far this year, our current hedge settlements have generated $456 million in cash benefits. And we enter 2027 with a solid hedge position at an average BRL of 572, providing additional visibility on our BRL-denominated cash flows. Together with the freight strategy discussed by Gustavo, these positions demonstrate a disciplined approach to managing external risks. They reduce cash flow volatility, improve financial visibility, and help protect valets' competitiveness through the cycle. Now let me turn to cash generation. Free cash flow was solid in the third quarter, despite the lower EBITDA. Free cash flow totaled $2.2 billion, supported by working capital release and the cash benefits from the hedging program I just discussed. Capital expenditures totaled $1.25 billion in the quarter, reflecting continued capital discipline and ongoing project efficiency initiatives. Based on the year-to-date performance, we expect CAPEX to finish 2026 towards the lower end of the $5.4 billion to $5.7 billion guidance range. Overall, solid cash flow generation and disciplined capital allocation provide Vale with financial flexibility to execute its business plan, pursue capital-efficient growth, and continue delivering attractive returns to shareholders. Expanded net debt ended the quarter at $16.4 billion, decreasing by approximately $200 million and remaining comfortably within the $10 billion to $20 billion target range. Importantly, net debt declined even after the payment of $1.7 billion in dividends and interest on capital in September. This demonstrates the strength of Valis Cash generation and balance sheet, even in a more challenging market environment. Before handing the call back to Gustavo, I would like to reinforce that we remain focused on strengthening competitiveness across the company. Despite external pressures, our priorities remain unchanged. We continue advancing productivity and efficiency initiatives, improving asset performance and optimizing the cost structure. The freight and hedging strategies provide an additional layer of protection, while the ramp-up of lower-cost assets supports a more competitive cost base. Together, these actions help protect margins, support consistent cash generation, and strengthen Vale's position through the cycle. Gustavo, please.