Iron ore futures were higher in Asian trade as Vale SA revealed about 93 million tonnes of production, almost a quarter of its previously slated 400Mt output for 2019, would be impacted by the fatal Brumadinho tailings dam failure.
Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) was up more than 2% at the time of writing, a gain of more than 64% year-to-date.
BHP (ASX: BHP) was up 0.65% in afternoon trade.
Gold was about US$5 an ounce lower than this point yesterday but base metals future were generally higher in Asian trade.
Gold equities were lower in afternoon Australian trade and the broader metals and mining index on the S&P/ASX200 was 0.2% higher.
Toronto's metals and mining stocks closed more than 1% higher yesterday with the copper sector performing best, up 3.23% thanks to First Quantum Minerals' (TSX: FM) gain of 4.26%.
Under-pressure Hudbay Minerals (TSX: HBM) continued its recovery, up 3.7% yesterday representing a rise of more than 47% year-to-date.
