By Jeffrey T. Lewis 



  SAO PAULO--Brazilian iron-ore miner Vale SA said Thursday it is taking the first step toward resuming production at the Voisey's Bay nickel and copper mine in Canada by early June. 


  The Rio de Janeiro-based company ramped down production at the site in Labrador in mid-March, putting it in a care-and-maintenance mode, as a measure to protect the health of indigenous peoples working at and living near the facility during the coronavirus pandemic. 


  The mine produced 5,300 metric tons of copper and 7,300 tons of nickel in the first quarter. The site will now go through a planned maintenance period to allow production to start again, including restarting critical path actions related to an expansion project, Vale said. 


  Vale in April revised its output guidance for copper to 360,000-380,000 tons for 2020, down from 400,000 tons, and lowered its guidance for nickel to 180,000-195,000 tons from 200,000-210,000 tons because of the idling of the mine and the impact of the coronavirus on maintenance plans. 


  The company plans to reach full production at the mine by early August, and is partnering with a private testing lab to monitor the health of all employees entering the site. The monitoring process is intended to identify, trace and stop the spread of potential Covid-19 cases, Vale said. 


  Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com