It also produces manganese, ferroalloys, copper, bauxite, potash, kaolin, and cobalt; as of 2014 the company operated nine hydroelectricity plants, and a large network of railroads, ships, and ports used to transport its products.

[5] Vale's Mariana Hub was the 9th largest iron ore mining center in the world in 2014, with an output of 39 million metric tonnes.

[26] The company acquired a majority interest in the Carajás Mine, with over 1.5 billion tonnes of iron ore in reserves, in 1970.

In March 2017, Vale SA chose a commodities industry veteran, Fabio Schvartsman, as chief executive officer.

Schvartsman was CEO of Klabin SA, Brazil's largest paper and cardboard producer, for the previous six years.

[31] In 2001, Vale sold its Cenibra wood pulp business to Aracruz and Votorantim Celulose e Papel jointly for US$670.5 million to focus on mining and logistics.

[32][33] In 2002, Vale sold 100,000 acres of land and the eucalyptus forests thereon related to its wood pulp business for R$137 million.

[42] In 2015, Vale's Integra coal mine located in Australia's Hunter Valley in New South Wales was sold to Glencore and Bloomfield in a complex multi-party deal.

[43] In May 2000, the company acquired Sociomex, owner of the Gongo Sôco Mine, with proven reserves of approximately 75 million tonnes.

[45] In April 2001, the company acquired Ferteco, then the third largest Brazilian producer of iron ore, with a production capacity of 15 million tonnes per year.

Caemi owned MBR, Brazil's second largest iron ore producer, mining over 60 million tonnes per year.

[55] In 2005, Vale acquired Canico Resource, owner of a nickel mine in Brazil, after increasing its offer to $865 million.

[58] To gain approval from Canadian authorities, Vale promised to continue investments in Canada and not lay off people for 3 years after closing.

[59] In 2007, Vale made a major entry into coal mining by acquiring AMCI Holdings Australia for AU$835 million.

[63][64] In June 2011, Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram were killed at the 3,000 foot level of the Frood Mine near Sudbury, Ontario.

This gave Hydro the world's largest alumina refinery and aimed to "secure raw materials for more than a hundred years of aluminum production".

[70][71] In 2015, the company announced that it would sell a 25% interest in gold produced from its Salobo mine, located in Brazil, to Silver Wheaton for US$900 million.

[74] In May 2023 it was announced by Eduardo Bartolomeo that Mark Cutifani would be appointed as Chair of the new Vale Base Metals (VBM) subsidiary in a spin-off event.

[77] Reports were afoot that GM, Mitsui, and the Saudi Public Investment Fund were interested buyers of a 10% stake.

[78] Vale spun out its metals business as a separate ringfenced entity headquartered in Toronto, with an independent board chaired by Cutifani.

[78][79] In early 2023, the parent company earned 80% of its profits in its South American iron mines, and the balance from its Base Metals group.

[80] An investigation into the disaster commissioned by BHP, Vale and Samarco found the collapse was due to a variety of construction and design flaws.

Following the Córrego do Feijão disaster, a Brazilian court ordered Vale to stop disposing of tailings at eight dams.

[83] In 2013, Vale S.A. agreed to pay the equivalent of $9.5 billion to settle a tax dispute with the Brazilian authorities regarding its overseas profits from 2003 to 2012.

[87] On September 28, 2021, thirty-nine miners were trapped underground for 24 hours at the Totten Mine in Ontario after the entrance shaft became obstructed.

[88] In January 2012, Vale received the "people's choice" Public Eye Award as the corporation with the most "contempt for the environment and human rights" in the world.

[8] Following the 2019 disaster, BBC News reported that "Correspondents say the alarm system the company had installed to warn residents of any risk did not go off.