CEO Fabio Schvartsman told an event in Rio de Janeiro on Monday that the miner usually generated US$14-$15 billion in a normal year and it was not the company's goal to keep cash, Reuters reported.
"The first thing we are going to do with the cash is pay debt, and then we are going to make this company's shareholders happy as never before," the wire service quoted Schvartsman saying, adding he did not specify a time frame.
The September quarter was the first period fully under Schvartsman's management and he said it had shown improvements in price realisation and the initial results of the cost management matrix approach.
Adjusted EBITDA was US$4.2 billion, 53.6% higher than in the second quarter; free cash flow was $1.4 billion and net debt decreased by just over $1 billion to $21.066 billion.
At the time, CFO Luciano Siani Pires said debt reduction would be accelerated in the fourth quarter.
