The Brazilian miner, the world’s largest iron ore producer, said today that production of the commodity reached 79.4 million tonnes during the period.

That marks a 12.6% increase on the second quarter of 2013 and an 11.8% jump on the first quarter of this year.

While Rio de Janeiro-based Vale said it experienced production gains across its Brazilian assets thanks in part to improved weather conditions, output improvements ts Carajas Plant 2 and southern Conceicao Itabiritos mines were particularly helpful.

So