Few companies have been as hard-hit by falling commodities prices as Brazilian mining behemoth Vale, the world's largest producer of iron ore and nickel. The price of iron ore, for example, plunged from nearly $200 a tonne in 2011 to just over $50 by late August 2015 - and many market observers believe it will fall even further. The Rio de Janeiro-based outfit faces an added challenge unique among its major competitors: the vast distance its products must travel to China, where the company earns 80 percent of its revenue. Its key rivals, Rio Tinto and BHP Billi-ton, have operations in Australia.
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