Vale Declares Force Majeure on Some Iron Ore and Pellets Sales Contracts
05 Fevereiro 2019 - 8:37PM
Dow Jones News
By Stephen Nakrosis
Brazilian miner Vale SA on Tuesday said it was declaring force
majeure on some iron ore and pellets sale contracts, "as a result
of the temporary suspension of the Brucutu mine production."
On Monday, Vale said a civil court in Brazil ordered the company
to halt activities, including disposing tailings, which have the
potential to increase risks to the dams at a number of its
facilities.
Vale said none of the dams were used to dispose tailings except
the Laranjeiras dam at the Brucutu mine. The impact from the
temporary halt at that complex is about 30 million tons of iron ore
per year, Vale said.
"Vale reinforces its understanding that there is no technical
basis nor risk assessment to justify the court decision to suspend
the operation and is adopting the appropriate legal measures to
resume its operations the soonest possible," Vale said in prepared
remarks Tuesday.
In January, a dam owned by Vale burst in the mineral-rich state
of Minas Gerais. The disaster caused 134 confirmed deaths so far,
with close to two hundred people still missing and probably dead,
according to authorities.
--Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 05, 2019 17:22 ET (22:22 GMT)
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