Vale Base Metals said it will move ahead with the Coarse Particle Flotation project at its Salobo Copper Complex in Brazil, accelerating start-up to the first half of 2028 from the previous timeline by about one year. The brownfield expansion is expected to lift Salobo's annual ore processing capacity by 6 million tonnes to 42 million tonnes and increase annual copper production by up to about 30,000 tonnes in concentrate, alongside roughly 15,000 ounces of gold byproduct. The company said the project uses a new flotation circuit to remove waste rock earlier in the processing stream, reducing grinding bottlenecks, improving recoveries and raising throughput while lowering average energy and water use. Vale Base Metals put the project capex at about $215 million, down from an earlier $225 million to $275 million estimate, and said its own capital spending should be about $175 million after Wheaton Precious Metals agreed to provide $40 million through two milestone-based payments. The company also said it received the construction license from IBAMA (Brazil environmental regulator) ahead of schedule and expects the project to generate an internal rate of return above 50%.