Cutifani steps down as chair of Vale’s base metals business after two years

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Mark Cutifani is stepping down as chair of Vale Base Metals after two years in the role, as parent company Vale weighs whether to pursue a public listing for its copper and nickel producing subsidiary.

Brazilian iron ore company Vale spun out the base metals business as a separate unit in 2023, and appointed Cutifani, the former chief executive of Anglo American, as chair the same year.

Vale Base Metals is poised to be among the world’s fastest-growing copper producers — aiming to double copper production in a decade — as it brings online several new mines in Brazil.

Vale’s new chief executive Gustavo Pimenta will replace Cutifani as chair of VBM from July, the companies said in separate statements on Wednesday.

Cutifani’s departure comes as anticipation has been building about a possible initial public offering for VBM, in which the Saudi Arabian mining fund Manara Minerals bought a 10 per cent stake for $2.5bn in 2023.

Cutifani helped to hire VBM’s chief executive Shaun Usmar and the rest of the executive team during his time as chair. He said his tenure had always been planned to last two or three years, to improve productivity and get the company ready for a potential IPO.

“Shaun is in place and has already done good things and so he doesn’t need me looking over his shoulder,” Cutifani said in an email to the Financial Times.

“When the leadership steps up, [it is] time for the foundation builders to step back and give them the room to create their own future. I’m thrilled we got there so quickly,” he added. Cutifani said Pimenta was taking the role of chair because he will be the person to make the final decision on whether to list VBM. “In that context, we both agreed it was time to step out and let the team keep driving the evolution,” he added.

He added that he would be pursuing other projects including at Odin Financial, a boutique investment bank.

For Pimenta, a key priority for the base metals business is to grow its copper output — aiming to boost its annual production from 350,000 tonnes to 700,000 tonnes — mainly through expanding projects in the Carajás region in Brazil.

He sees an IPO as one of several options for VBM to access capital but does not believe a listing is a forgone conclusion, according to people familiar with his thinking.

Pimenta said he was grateful for Cutifani’s work “in optimising the asset portfolio, enhancing governance, and strengthening the executive team”.