![Dam break in Brumadinho | Bild (Ausschnitt): © TV NBR [CC BY 3.0] - Wikimedia Commons](https://www.facing-finance.org/files/2019/01/Brumadinho_Bild-120x120.jpg "Dam break in Brumadinho | Bild (Ausschnitt): © TV NBR [CC BY 3.0] - Wikimedia Commons")
On Friday the 25th of January, a tailings dam at the Córrego de Feijão mine in Brumadinho, Brazil suffered a cave-in, resulting in a toxic landslide causing more than 99 casualties, with still 259 missing. The mudslide engulfed a nearby canteen in which workers of the mine had been eating lunch before progressing to nearby houses. ... →
Over two years after the disaster, there is still no complete assessment of the socio-environmental and socio-economic damages suffered by the affected communities.
As reported in Dirty Profits 6 – In March 2016, Samarco, Vale and BHP Billiton signed an agreement with the federal and state governments for socioeconomic and environmental recovery work worth a total of around BRL20bn over 15 years. ... →
Facing Finance’s partner organization, Justica Ambiental, has released three videos depicting human rights violations in the Mozambican village of Cateme. Inhabitants of three villages affected by Vale’s establishment of coalmines in the area were relocated to the village of Cateme. Located approximately 40km away from the nearest market, Cateme is an inadequate substitute for their former villages. ... →
Tax Avoidance in Brazil
In a dispute over unpaid royalties, Vale S.A. and the Brazilian authorities finally reached an agreement. Vale, the world´s largest iron-ore producer and the second biggest nickel-producer, had to pay around 4 billion Brazilian reais (approximately 2,22 billion $). This request of the Brazilian authorities initially concerned royalties for the period from 1996 to 2002 and was related to profits of Vale´s non-Brazilian subsidiaries and affiliates. ... →
Environmental threat in Brazil
It is a first step for Vale concerning its new iron ore project, after the Brazilian company has obtained a preliminary environmental license. Indeed, according to a press release of Vale on 27th June, the license had been put out by the IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis). ... →
![Photo: Nafise Motlaq / World Bank | Bild (Ausschnitt): © World Bank Photo Collection [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] - flickr](https://www.facing-finance.org/files/2017/09/ValeXPalmXOil-120x120.jpg "Photo: Nafise Motlaq / World Bank | Bild (Ausschnitt): © World Bank Photo Collection [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] - flickr")
Environmental menace in Brazil
Around 15% of Vale´s total costs stem from its energy spendings. Moreover, according to a new Brazilian policy, diesel fuel has to contain 10% of biodiesel by 2020, up to 5% currently. These reasons have led the company to initiate a new strategy of self-sufficiency concerning its energy supply.
Recently, Vale has inaugurated its first palm oil plantation in the Amazon-rainforest. ... →