Vale – Page 22 – Republic of Mining

Brazil’s Costly Mining Failures Tied to Cheap Waste Storage – by Laura Millan Lombrana (Bloomberg News – January 31, 2019)

February 1, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The deadly collapse of a Vale SA tailings dam in Brazil is serving as a wake-up call for an industry that regularly cuts costs by storing mining waste in the cheapest possible way.

The slurry of ground rock and effluents left over after companies extract marketable minerals from the ground has been stored for decades in massive ponds held back by embankments or dams. Their safety, though, depends very much on the design of the ponds, and on the cost of building them.

The Vale SA dam that collapsed in Brazil last week, and a previous dam that failed there three years earlier, were both built on the go using the “upstream” method, typically the cheapest by far. Under that technique, the wall containing the pond is primarily constructed of tailings, and it’s designed to grow as more effluents are pumped in. A costlier method pre-builds the walls and insulates them.

Anger persists after Vale vows to make amends for Brazil dam disaster – by Gram Slattery (Reuters U.S. – January 31, 2019)

January 31, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

BRUMADINHO, Brazil (Reuters) – Residents of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais reacted with indifference and in many cases anger at a series of measures miner Vale SA has pledged to adopt following last week’s dam burst that almost certainly killed over 300 people.

“Too Late” read the newspaper of record here, O Estado de Minas, after Vale, the world’s largest iron ore miner, said it would take up to 10 percent of its production offline and spend 5 billion reais ($1.36 billion) to decommission 10 dams like the one that collapsed at its Corrego do Feijao mine last Friday.

With some 99 people confirmed dead and another 250 missing, according to firefighters, the tailings dam collapse in the town of Brumadinho may be Brazil’s deadliest-ever mine disaster.

Iron Ore Rockets as Vale’s Supply Disruption Convulses Market – by Krystal Chia (Bloomberg/Yahoo – Janaury 30, 2019)

January 30, 2019

https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — The global iron ore market was pitched into turmoil after Brazil’s Vale SA, the world’s largest producer, outlined plans to cut output after a deadly dam breach, buoying shares of rivals as investors weighed the impact of the disruption. Prices soared, with futures rallying more than 9 percent.

Vale will decommission some tailings dams, curbing production by 40 million tons a year, Chief Executive Officer Fabio Schvartsman said at a press conference, citing a plan presented to the Energy and Environment Ministries. The impact will be partially offset by an increase in production from other systems, Vale said. The company had planned to mine 400 million tons this year.

The severity of the fallout will hinge on Vale’s ability, as well as efforts by other miners, to make up the tons that’ll be lost. A sharp reduction in supply, if that happens, would tighten the global seaborne market, aiding Rio Tinto Group, BHP Group and Anglo American Plc, while lifting costs for steelmakers across the globe.

‘Brazil learned nothing’: Another deadly dam collapse raises questions about Bolsonaro’s plans to expand mining – by Stephanie Nolen (Globe and Mail – January 30, 2019)

January 30, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In November 2015, Brazil experienced a deadly dam collapse at the Samarco mine in Mariana. Nothing was done. Three-and-a-half years later, after another deadly dam collapse, questions remain around regulations for the mining industry

A month after a tailings dam collapsed and killed 19 people in the Brazilian town of Mariana in November, 2015, the legislature in the state of Minas Gerais gathered to consider new mining legislation.

Congress members meeting 100 kilometres from the site of the disaster at the Samarco mine voted to reduce the role given to the Ministerio Publico, a government agency that typically advocates for environmental, Indigenous and public-safety considerations, in approving new mining projects.

Vale’s Brazil disaster to prompt buyers to take more Australian iron ore – by Melanie Burton and Muyu Xu (Reuters U.S. – January 30, 2019)

January 30, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE/BEIJING (Reuters) – Vale SA’s catastrophic dam failure in Brazil may knock it off its perch as the biggest iron ore exporter as the resulting rally in high-grade ore prices steers buyers towards rivals offering cheaper ore, industry sources said on Wednesday.

The world’s largest iron ore miner is facing public ire and tougher regulation after the collapse of its tailings dam in the Brazilian region of Brumadinho killed at least 84 in one of the country’s worst ever industrial disasters. Hundreds are still missing and presumed dead.

Vale on Tuesday said it would take up to 10 percent of its output offline as it decommissions a total of 19 dams over three years, a move that would cut up to 40 million tonnes of iron ore production a year.

Vale to cut output, shut down dams after Brazil disaster – by Jake Spring and Gram Slattery (Reuters U.S. – January 29, 2019)

January 29, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

BRASILIA/BRUMADINHO, Brazil (Reuters) – Vale SA (VALE3.SA), the world’s largest iron ore miner, on Tuesday vowed to take as much as 10 percent of its ore output offline in order to decommission 10 more dams like the one that burst last week, killing scores of workers and nearby residents.

Chief Executive Fabio Schvartsman said it would temporarily paralyze operations using those dams and spend 5 billion reais ($1.3 billion) to decommission them over the next three years.

The move came as prosecutors began arresting Vale executives over the Friday collapse of a tailings dam in the Brazilian town of Brumadinho, which was hit by a torrent of mining waste that killed at least 84 people and left hundreds more missing.

Brazil eyes management overhaul for Vale after dam disaster – by Gram Slattery (Reuters U.S. – January 28, 2019)

January 29, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

BRUMADINHO, Brazil (Reuters) – Brazil’s government weighed pushing for a management overhaul at iron ore miner Vale SA on Monday as grief over the hundreds feared killed by a dam burst turned into anger, with prosecutors, politicians and victims’ families calling for punishment.

By Monday night, firefighters in the state of Minas Gerais had confirmed that 65 people were killed by Friday’s disaster, when a burst tailings dam sent a torrent of sludge into the miner’s offices and the town of Brumadinho.

There were still 279 people unaccounted for, and officials said it was unlikely that any would be found alive. Brazil’s acting president, Hamilton Mourao, told reporters a government task force on the disaster response is looking at whether it could or should change Vale’s top management.

New Dam Disaster Puts Vale CEO, Deals and Dividends Under Scrutiny – by Tatiana Bautzer (U.S. News.com – January 27, 2019)

January 28, 2019

https://www.usnews.com/

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – When Fabio Schvartsman took the reins of Vale SA in 2017, he suggested a motto for the world’s largest iron miner, turning the page on a tailings dam disaster that hit a small Brazilian town two years before: “Mariana, never again.”

That and many of Schvartsman’s other big promises look destined for the scrap heap. Four years later and some 100 km (60 miles) from Mariana, a breached Vale tailings dam on Friday unleashed a torrent of mud on another small Brazilian community, Brumadinho, leaving hundreds missing and presumed dead.

While the company’s focus so far has been on the human tragedy, analysts and shareholders have little doubt that Vale cannot continue on the track its CEO set.

UPDATE 2-Brazilian despair turns to anger as toll from Vale dam disaster hits 60 – by Gram Slattery (Reuters Africa – January 28, 2019)

January 28, 2019

https://af.reuters.com/

BRUMADINHO, Brazil, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Grief over the hundreds of Brazilians feared killed in a mining disaster has quickly hardened into anger as victims’ families and politicians say iron ore miner Vale SA and regulators have learned nothing from the recent past.

By Monday, firefighters in the state of Minas Gerais had confirmed 60 people dead in Friday’s disaster, in which a tailings dam broke sending a torrent of sludge into the miner’s offices and the town of Brumadinho. Nearly 300 other people are unaccounted for, and officials said it was unlikely that any would be found alive.

Vale shares plummeted 17 percent in Monday trading on the Sao Paulo stock exchange, which had been closed on Friday. Brazil’s top prosecutor, Raquel Dodge, said the company should be held strongly responsible and criminally prosecuted. Executives could also be personally held responsible, she said.

Hundreds missing in Brazil, 34 found dead, after Vale dam burst – by Gram Slattery (Reuters U.S. – January 26, 2019)

January 27, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

BRUMADINHO, Brazil (Reuters) – Brazilian rescue workers halted searches for the night on Saturday for hundreds of people missing and feared dead under a sea of mud after a tailings dam burst at an iron ore mine owned by Vale SA, killing at least 34 people.

The dam ruptured on Friday, releasing a torrent of mining waste that slammed into Vale’s facilities and cut through a nearby community, leaving a roughly 150-meter-wide (500-foot-wide) wake of destruction stretching for miles (km).

The Minas Gerais state fire department, which gave the latest confirmed death toll, also said 23 people had been sent to hospitals. Some 250 people remained missing, according to a list released by Vale. All of those missing are Vale employees or contractors, a police spokesman said.

Hundreds missing in Brazil after Vale tailings dam breaks, area evacuated – by Anthony Boadle (Reuters U.S. – January 25, 2019)

January 25, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

BRASILIA (Reuters) – A Brazil fire brigade said it was searching for about 200 people still unaccounted for after a tailings dam burst on Friday at an iron ore mine owned by Brazilian miner Vale SA in southwestern Minas Gerais state.

A statement from the fire brigade issued in Belo Horizonte city said scores of people were trapped in areas by the river of sludge released by the dam failure.

Vale said there were employees in the administrative buildings of the dam that were covered by the surge of mud and water and there could be casualties in that area. There was no immediate word of fatalities.

Mining powerhouse Vale launches artificial intelligence center – by Anmar Frangoul (CNBC.com – January 16, 2019)

January 17, 2019

https://www.cnbc.com/

South American firm Vale, one of the world’s largest mining companies, has opened an artificial intelligence (AI) center at its Tubarao site in Vitoria, Brazil.

In an announcement Tuesday, the business said that the center was aiming to “leverage the adoption of innovative and disruptive technologies in all areas of the business.“

The work related to the center is focused on several things, including optimizing the maintenance of assets such as off-road trucks, and improving the management of ore processing.

Vale in it for the long haul, says COO: Ricus Grimbeek talks future of nickel mining – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – January 11, 2019)

January 11, 2019

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The mining industry is rapidly moving toward digital technology, and Sudbury could be at the heart of it with careful planning, said Vale’s Ricus Grimbeek. The chief operating officer for Canada, the U.K, and Asian refineries was the guest speaker at a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce President’s Luncheon Series on Jan. 10 at the Radisson hotel.

His message was clear: Vale has a decades-long plan to stay in the region, as well as help the city become the global hub of digital mining as it transforms the industry.

“I was talking to somebody and they said they thought there was maybe five good years of mining left here, and asked what I thought and I said, no,” he said. “They asked if it was less or more.” For Vale, he said the mining company is looking at at least 20 to 30 more years of production in the basin alone.

Sudbury’s future exciting — and electric — Vale COO – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – January 11, 2019)

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

When asked recently if he thought Sudbury could expect another five good years of mining, the answer Ricus Grimbeek gave was ‘no.’ It wasn’t, however, because the chief operating officer for Vale’s North Atlantic Operations feels activity will dry up sooner than that.

“I had my poker face on,” he told a crowd gathered for a Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday. “I believe there’s an amazing future here in Sudbury for the next couple of decades, not just the next five years.”

Driving that confidence is an expected boom in electric vehicles, which require copper and nickel for their batteries. Grimbeek, who hails from South Africa but now lives in Sudbury, said part of the reason he joined Vale was the opportunity “to absolutely impact the climate-change work we need to do as a society.”