http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-vale-assets-idUSBRE8...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-vale-assets-idUSBRE89O1H920121025

Key paragraph wrt iron ore is

"Iron ore .IO62-CNI=SI, responsible for about 90 percent of Vale's profit, averaged $112.12 a tonne in the quarter, 36 percent less than a year earlier. The price of iron ore fell to a three-year low of $86.70 a tonne on September 5.

Lower prices drove a 66 percent decline in profit to $1.67 billion, Vale's worst performance in nearly three years, the Rio de Janeiro-based company said late Wednesday.

While iron ore rebounded on Thursday to $120 a tonne, a three-month high, Vale expects 2013 average prices to be similar to those today. The price could swing up to $150 a tonne only to fall back below $100 a tonne, Jose Carlos Martins, Vale's iron ore chief said Thursday.