Vale S.A.
Profile
Vale
Vale is the largest producer of iron ore and nickel in the world. It also owns a sprawling network of railroads, ships, and ports used to transport this ore as well as a number of major hydro-electric plants. Founded in 1942 as a state-owned enterprise by the Brazilian government, it was originally named Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD). It was partially privatized in 1997 but the Brazilian government retains control. Some of the biggest environmental disasters associated with Vale include the vast Carajás Iron Mine in the state of Para as well as two major waste dam failures in the state of Minas Gerais. The collapse of the Fundão dam at the Germano iron ore mine in November 2015 killed 19 while the collapse of the Brumadinho dam at the Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine in January 2019 killed 270.
Iron ore, Iron ore pellets, Manganese ore, Ferroalloys, Copper, Nickel, Coal, Fertilizers
Violations
Violation data for Vale S.A. is still being gathered at this time.
Stories
Mining giants told to pay $9.7bn over Brazil dam disaster
A federal judge in Brazil has ordered mining giants BHP, Vale and their Samarco iron ore joint venture to pay 47.6bn reais ($9.67bn) in damages over a deadly dam burst in 2015.
Original features of Vale’s tailings dam may have been responsible for failure – study
Rescuers at Brumadinho following the collapse of the tailings dam at Vale’s Corrego do Feijao iron ore mine. (Image by Diego Baravelli, Wikimedia Commons.)
Brazil to sue mining companies BHP and Vale for $5bn over dam disaster
Brazil’s government has announced it will sue mining giants BHP Billiton and Vale for $US5.2bn after the deadly collapse of a dam
Manager at Brazil's Vale told executives of dam risks: newspaper
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: A helmet with a logo of Vale SA is seen in a collapsed tailings dam owned by the company, in Brumadinho, Brazil February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Washington Alves
Vale: The pride of Brazil becomes its most hated company
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Activism
'Permanent state of fear': 2 years after disaster, mine tailings dams a big risk
Taylor Kuykendall | S&P Global | January 25, 2021
On Jan. 25, 2019, a large dam full of mining waste from the Corrego do Feijao iron ore mine owned by Vale SA ruptured and sent a mudslide downstream toward Brumadinho, Brazil, killing at least 270 people. Two years later, some question if the mining industry has done enough to avert further disasters.
Protesters sit-in at Brazil miner Vale dam burst site, demand aid extension
Washington Alves, Roberto Samora | Reuters | October 22, 2020
BRUMADINHO, Brazil (Reuters) - Roughly 150 demonstrators staged a sit-in at Brazilian miner Vale’s administrative building in the town of Brumadinho on Thursday to protest their treatment nearly two years after a deadly mining waste dam collapsed there, killing about 270 people.
NGOs Push to Expel Brazil Miner Vale From UN Pact Over Dam Disaster
VOA | February 12, 2019
SAO PAULO - A group of international non-governmental organizations on Tuesday demanded that Brazilian miner Vale SA be excluded from the United Nations' corporate responsibility pact, after a mining dam burst that killed an estimated 300 people.
Brumadinho dam: NGOs urge companies and investors to use leverage and require Vale to remedy the situation
International Federation for Human Rights | February 21, 2019
Today, 86 organisations addressed a letter to companies and investors of the mining and steel industry following the rupture of the Brumadinho tailings dam, on January 25. The letter urges the companies to exercise their due diligence regarding the situation in Brazil and to require Vale S.A. to adequately repair ...
Thousands Send Individual Protests to Vale for Provoking Canadian Strike
United Steel Workers | Cision | December 23, 2009
One of the most-successful campaigns of its kind has wrapped up, with thousands of protest messages from around the world sent to mining giant Vale for provoking a strike by 3,500 Canadian mine workers.
Protest Camp at Voisey’s Bay
The Nation | 1997
The Innu and Inuit of Labrador are staging a joint protest at the massive mining development at Voisey’s Bay. Inuit are arriving from Nain to set up a protest camp, and more than 250 Innu from Davis Inlet and Sheshatshiu are heading over to join them.
& Lawsuits
Vale dam disaster: $7bn compensation for disaster victims
BBC | February 4, 2021
Communities hit by a dam disaster in Brazil two years ago which killed 270 people will get a $7bn (£5bn) payout. The Brumadinho dam contained waste from an iron ore mine but gave way, unleashing a sea of mud which engulfed a staff canteen, offices and farms.
Brazil charges ex-Vale CEO with homicide for dam disaster
Al Jazeera | January 21, 2020
Brazilian state prosecutors on Tuesday charged Fabio Schvartsman, the former chief executive of mining giant Vale SA, and 15 other people with homicide for a dam disaster last year that killed more than 250 people, according to the charging document seen by Reuters news agency.
Vale and BHP fined for deadly Brazilian dam burst
BBC | November 12, 2015
The Brazilian government is fining the mining giants Vale and BHP Billiton for a dam burst at their jointly owned mine. The companies face preliminary fines of 250m Brazilian reais (£43.6m; $66.3m).
& Relations
Mozambique families protest against Brazil's Vale
Reuters | January 10, 2012
Families resettled by Brazilian mining giant Vale in the Tete region of Mozambique protested on Tuesday that the company had failed to keep promises it made to them in 2009.
Financials
Procurement
CorpWatch is still gathering procurement data for Vale S.A. at this time.