Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian mining giant Vale announced Friday a reduction of 30 million metric tons a year in its iron ore production starting from November as a result of the global financial crisis.

    The company decided to suspend the production in some of its mines in the southern and southeastern regions due to a drop in demand, the company said.

    According to the Vale's statement, those mines have a higher production cost and lower quality than the company's other mines.

    Vale's iron ore mines are not the only one to suffer production cuts. Two pellet plants, accounting for some 20 percent of the company's total nominal capacity, will be shut down for maintenance from November this year.

    The company also decided to suspend the activities of one of its aluminum smelters in southeastern Brazil.

    Vale's manganese ore and ferroalloy operations in Brazil will be paralyzed from December 2008 to January 2009. A ferroalloy plant in Dunkerque, France will remain idle until April 2009, while the plant in Mo I Rana, Norway, will have its furnace maintenance extended until June 2009.

    These changes will imply a production cut of 600,000 metric tons of manganese ore and 90,000 metric tons of ferroalloy.