Vale suspends Itabiruçu dam in Itabira Complex

Vale temporarily suspended the disposal of tailings from the Itabiruçu dam, located in the Itabira Complex, Minas Gerais, as of October 21, while assessing the geotechnical characteristics of the dam. During the shutdown, the dam will adopt the Level 1 emergency protocol, according to the National Mining Agency (ANM), which does not require evacuation of the nearby population. The Itabiruçu dam had its Statement of Stability Condition (DCE) issued on September 30, 2019, which remains valid.

The decision to stop the activities of this dam stemmed from Vale’s own assessment, agreed with external inspection bodies, on the need to carry out complementary studies on its geotechnical characteristics. The studies will be carried out by a company hired by Vale, within 30 days.

The impact of the Itabiruçu dam shutdown, which receives tailings from the Conceição mine, will be limited to 2019 at about 1.2 Mt, as the 2020 production plan had already foreseen the momentary shutdown of this dam for much of 2020. Accordingly, the plan to resume the standstill production of approximately 50 Mt remains unchanged, as presented in the 3Q19 Production and Sales Report.

Vale reaffirms its iron ore and pellet sales guidance of 307-332m tons. However, due to the Itabiruçu stoppage and the revision of its sales plan, it expects them to be between the lower limit and the center of the range.

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