Alfredo Santana, Vale's chief operating officer for the company’s North Atlantic operations, told the Sudbury BEV In Depth conference last week that as his company has now become the nickel supplier of choice for the electric vehicle battery market, there will be an economic pay off with expansion of mining operations in Sudbury.
This marked the second year for the conference, which debuted in 2022, attracting hundreds of delegates from across several sectors — government, mining, automotive, battery development — to discuss battery-electric vehicles and their future in Ontario. In his address, Santana gave a quick outline of how Vale Base Metals has become its own entity within the overall corporate structure of the iron ore mining giant known as Vale S.A.
Santana said Vale Base Metals has positioned itself as "the supplier of choice" for electric vehicle battery manufacturing. He said that combined with predicted year-over-year growth for EV sales in 2023 and similar performance until at least 2030, "it is a very exciting time for us".