Vale Base Metals chair Cutifani to step down; Pimenta tapped for role

Brazil miner Vale said on Wednesday that Mark Cutifani will step down as chairman of its copper and nickel spin-off Vale Base Metals to “pursue new professional projects,” according to a securities filing.

Vale CEO Gustavo Pimenta has been elected to replace him, the company said, adding that the changes would take place in July and “ensure strong leadership continuity and alignment with Vale’s broader strategic objectives” in the business.

Iron ore giant Vale spun out its base metals business as a separate entity headquartered in Toronto in 2023, with a view of eventually listing it.

Cutifani was brought in to chair the new entity, having won plaudits for his stewardship of London-listed Anglo American, which he led as chief executive for almost a decade until 2022.

“We thought it would be a two- to three-year project to help them (Vale Base Metals) set up for an IPO,” Cutifani said in a statement. Since then, “we have seen a 40% increase in productivity and a 20% reduction in costs.”

“Gustavo … will be the one to make the final decision on if and when to IPO,” he added, without commenting on his new professional projects.

Cutifani steps down just months after the appointment of veteran mining executive Shaun Usmar as chief executive of Vale Base Metals.

“The elephant in the room for VBM is the timing of an IPO, which we do not expect to come anytime soon,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Marina Calero said.

(By Gabriel Araujo and Clara Denina; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mark Porter)

Read More: Vale Base Metals head says unit aims to be IPO-ready by 2027