Vale receives notice from SEC ahead of potential probe
Reuters | October 28, 2021 |

Vale’s tailings dam failure on Jan. 25, 2019, killed 270. 

(Image courtesy of Vinícius Mendonça | Ibama)

Brazilian miner Vale said on Thursday it has received a formal notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding a potential probe of the company.


The SEC investigation would try to find evidence of “misconduct” related to public disclosures after a dam disaster in the town of Brumadinho, which killed 270 people in January 2019.

The so-called Wells notice received by Vale does not mean charges will be brought against the miner, the filing said.

“The notice gives Vale the opportunity to provide its point of view and address the issues raised by the SEC staff before the SEC makes any decision about authorizing proceedings to begin,” Vale said.

Shares in the miner fell 0.4% in mid-morning trading while Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa index rose 0.4%.

Vale to receive binding offers for coal business
MINING.COM Staff Writer | October 29, 2021 | 8:28 am Top Companies Latin America Coal

Stockyard at Moatize coal mine, Mozambique. (Image courtesy of Vale)

Vale expects to receive binding offers for its coal business in early November, an executive said on Friday, as it aims to completely exit the sector and has decided to divest of its Moatize asset even before it reaches goals projected in the firm’s business plan.


“We have already received some indicative proposals to sell the business. Now we expect to receive binding offers in early November,” Vale’s Finance VP Luciano Siani said during a conference call.

Vale signed a deal to acquire Mitsui& Co’s stake in the Moatize metallurgical and thermal coal mine and port project in Mozambique in April.

Moatize is Vale’s largest venture in the coal sector, and has been operational since 2011. The complex has a capacity of 22 million tonnes of coal a year, including metallurgical and thermal types.

In 2017, Mitsui paid $690 million for its interest in the mine.