Due to the entry into force of Resolution 95/2022 of the National Mining Agency (ANM), which establishes new parameters for classifying emergency levels, Vale informs that today it has increased the emergency level of Dique de Pedra, Fábrica mine, in Ouro Preto (MG), to 2 from 1. Vale emphasizes that the safety conditions of the structure remain unchanged. There is no permanent occupation of the structure's Self-Rescue Zone, nor any impact on the company's operations.Dique de Pedra is an inactive tailings containment structure, built in a single stage, with a current volume of 500,000 cubic meters. 

The structure was conceived as a temporary structure, associated with the Forquilha IV dam, but started to be treated as an independent dam in relation to the existing dam downstream after a precision topographic survey. Given the lack of geotechnical information about the structure and its conception as a temporary structure, a conservative scenario was preventively adopted in September 2021, with the activation of a level 1 emergency protocol and the adoption of additional studies by Vale since then, in addition to continuous monitoring.

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