Brazil court orders Vale to halt Amazon nickel-mine operation
RIO DE JANEIRO – A Brazilian federal court on Friday ordered Vale to halt activity at its Onça Puma nickel mine, in Brazil's Amazon state of Pará, until it can demonstrate what actions it has taken to compensate indigenous communities in the region.
Vale's operations in Pará face regular legal and protest action by native Brazilian groups seeking better schools, health care and other public services.
Onça Puma, in Ourilândia do Norte, is part of a complex of mines operated by Vale in the state's Carajas region. The mine produced 5 900 t of finished nickel in the second quarter, or about 8.8% of Vale's finished-nickel output.
The most common protest by indigenous groups has involved blocking Vale's rail line between Carajas and the Atlantic Ocean.
The court also ordered Vale, the world's second-largest nickel producer, to deposit one-million reais ($287 000) for each indigenous village in the area until it establishes a compensation programme for the communities.
Vale's press office said it had no immediate comment but added that it is investigating the situation.
The company has said it works closely with native groups but that many of their demands are the responsibility of Brazil's federal and state governments, not Vale. Under its mining incenses, Vale is required to provide environmental and other compensation to local communities.
Nickel, a metal that is both hard and malleable, is used primarily to make steel and other alloys rust resistant. Rio de Janeiro-based Vale is also the largest producer of iron-ore, the main ingredient in steel.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation