Brazil’s Vale, the world’s biggest producer of iron-ore, has reported a $8.6-billion fourth-quarter net loss, its worst ever as a private company, as lower prices for the steelmaking ingredient prompted asset write-downs mostly on its coal and nickel assets totalling $9.37-billion.
Excluding special items, Vale’s underlying loss totalled $1.03-billion, compared with a loss of $251-million in the comparable period of 2014.
