For Immediate Release
SUDBURY, February 29, 2012 – Vale today released the following statement from Kelly Strong, Vice President, Mining & Milling (North Atlantic Operations) and General Manager, Ontario Operations, regarding the United Steelworkers Local 6500 investigation report into the deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram in June 2011:
“We received the union’s investigation report this morning and are in the process of reviewing it very carefully.
The USW document contains serious allegations, and calls for the government to consider laying criminal charges against the Company and individuals. As a result of this, we are not able to discuss the specific allegations contained in the report.
While a detailed review is ongoing, our preliminary reading of the report indicates that there is no new factual information that our investigation team had not considered. There is, however, a distinct difference with how the USW has chosen to interpret and draw conclusions from those facts.
We stand by the findings of our own internal investigation – it was thorough, complete and conducted by senior and experienced experts. That investigation concluded that there were a number of factors contributing to the tragic deaths of Jason and Jordan with no single cause or individual at fault. We reject the USW’s allegations of negligence and are prepared to defend the company and our employees fully if required.
The union has a legitimate role in health and safety in our organization. Their report contains a large number of recommendations, and we have assembled a team to review them in detail with a view to incorporating those recommendations as appropriate in our plans to improve safety moving forward.
Life matters most and nothing is more important than the health and safety of our people. A plan of action, including more than 30 recommendations, has been compiled in the wake of the company investigation, to put control measures in place to address the contributing factors identified through the investigatory process. While nothing will ever bring Jason or Jordan back, we are committed to doing everything in our power to put in place measures to ensure a tragedy like this never repeats itself.”
-30-
Contact:
Angie Robson
Manager, Corporate Affairs
Vale, Ontario Operations
(705) 682-5202
angie.robson@vale.com
Cory McPhee
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Vale, North Atlantic
416-361-7669
cory.mcphee@vale.com