Vale Base Metals and Glencore Canada agree to evaluate development of Sudbury copper deposits

TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Vale Base Metals ("VBM") today announced it has signed an agreement with Glencore Canada ("Glencore") to jointly evaluate a potential brownfield copper development project at their adjacent properties in the Sudbury Basin.

The agreement provides a framework to explore the significant synergies of mining both companies' underground deposits via the existing shaft and infrastructure at Glencore's Nickel Rim South Mine.

Upon completion of this early work, the intention is that VBM and Glencore will transition to a joint venture as equal partners in the project. The project proposes deepening Glencore's existing mine shaft and developing new drifts to access nearby copper deposits. The project is estimated to produce 880 kt of copper over 21 years with a capital cost of about US$1.6 billion to US$2.0 billion. 

The polymetallic geology of the Sudbury Basin means that in addition to copper the companies will also produce nickel, cobalt, gold, PGMs and other critical minerals. Detailed engineering, permitting and consultation work will occur in 2026. A final investment decision is expected in the first half of 2027.

"Opportunities to partner and unlock synergistic value between neighbouring miners in the Sudbury Basin have been pursued for decades, without meaningful success," said Shaun Usmar, CEO of Vale Base Metals. "I'm grateful for the commitment shown by both Glencore and our VBM team for coming together to finally unlock this historic opportunity by demonstrating a new collaborative way of working.

"The contemplated partnership paves the way to extract valuable copper-rich orebodies for our respective operations that would otherwise be lost to both companies. The proposed 50-50 joint venture aims to leverage Glencore's unused infrastructure to access orebodies on both our properties. This will benefit our respective companies, our local communities in and around Sudbury, and it has the potential to produce nearer-term critical minerals from this prolific brownfield project for the Canadian economy. My hope is it will be a catalyst to unearth further synergies in the region."

About Vale Base Metals (www.valebasemetals.com)
Vale Base Metals is one of the world's largest producers of high-quality nickel and an important producer of responsibly sourced copper and cobalt. Vale Base Metals Limited is based in London, United Kingdom with its global operations centre in Toronto, Canada. The company also has operations in Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario, Manitoba, Indonesia, Brazil, and Japan. Vale Base Metals is 90 per cent owned by Vale S.A. and 10 per cent by Manara Minerals Investment Company. 

Contact:
Media Relations Office – Vale Base Metals, media.valebasemetals@vale.com;
Brunswick Group, ValeBaseMetals@brunswickgroup.com, +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements, which present our expectations about future events or results. These forward- looking statements merely reflect our current views and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. Terms as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "forecast", "intend", "plan", "project", "seek", "should", along with similar or analogous expressions, are used to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding VBM's plans, prospects and business strategies; the realization of synergies in developing the NSRE; the ability to enter into a definitive agreement on terms that are agreement to both parties; the ability to reach a decision to proceed with the project; the ability to establish and operate a new joint venture with Glencore; the identification of additional value creation opportunities; VBM's estimate of the timing and amount of future production; expected costs; the results of any economic assessments or feasibility studies or Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimations; the anticipated exploration and development activities; permitting requirements and timelines. Forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which include, but are not limited to the volatility of metals prices and their dependence on global industrial production, which is cyclical by nature;  global competition in the markets in which we operate and other factors or trends affecting our financial condition or results of operations. To obtain further information on factors that may lead to results different from those forecasts, please consult the reports that Vale S.A. files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in particular the factors discussed under "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in Vale S.A.'s annual report on Form 20-F.