Vale agrees to pay BRL 21.19m over Mariana mine report

Vale has entered into an agreement with the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office to resolve safety management irregularities at the Fábrica Nova Mine Complex in Mariana, located in the Central Region of Minas Gerais.

Under the deal, the miner must allocate up to BRL 21.19 million to modernize and strengthen the oversight capacity of Brazil's National Mining Agency. Vale omitted a 2020 report from the agency that identified safety factors below the required minimum threshold at a permanent waste pile.

According to prosecutors, the situation was severe because the waste pile sits directly above a sediment containment dike. A collapse posed a direct threat to the environment and neighboring communities, including the district of Santa Rita Durão. Vale kept the assessment confidential for about two years, even after landslides occurred in 2020 and 2022.

The document was submitted to the National Mining Agency only after demands made during an inspection, which prompted the regulator to shut down the structures in November 2023. Under the settlement, Vale must also report any severe risk in waste piles across Minas Gerais, submit a detailed diagnosis of all structures at Fábrica Nova, and maintain permanent surveillance over inactive facilities.