- Vale (NYSE:VALE) should consider selling as much as a 20% stake in its crown jewels - the Northern System operations, which includes Carajas, the world's largest iron ore mine - to "regain control of its destiny" amid the huge drop in iron ore prices, says Deutsche Bank analyst Wilfredo Ortiz.
- Vale's balance sheet is "precarious," Ortiz says in estimating the miner's funding gap could climb to $10B under a distressed pricing scenario for iron ore of $45/ton through the end of 2017.
- The analyst estimates selling a 15%-20% stake in Carajas could fetch $8B-$10B, which would be enough to cover most of the outstanding capital investment for the mine's expansion and would shore up Vale's balance sheet "to weather pretty much any storm in the iron ore market."