This month, Vale completed the de-characterization of another structure built using the upstream method, Dike 2 of the Pontal System, located at the Cauê Mine in Itabira (MG). This is the 13th structure of this type to be eliminated by Vale in Brazil since 2019, and the sixth to be de-characterized in the municipality. With this, the company has completed more than 40% of the 30 structures to be eliminated in the de-characterization program, as they were built using the same method as the Brumadinho dam. 

Dike 2 has not received any tailings since 2019, and the de-characterization work generated approximately 200 jobs, both direct and outsourced, with priority given to hiring local workers.  

Dike 2 was the sixth upstream structure to be removed in Itabira, out of a total of ten dams included in the de-characterization program. In September 2022, the Ipoema dam at Mina do Meio and Dike 3, also in the Pontal system, had already been removed. Previously, dams 4 and 5 of the Pontal system and the Rio do Peixe dam were de-characterized. 

Furthermore, to increase safety and reduce the impact in case of an emergency, a downstream containment structure (ECJ) was built as a precautionary measure for the works to eliminate the Minervino and Cordão Nova Vista dams at the Pontal dam. The Coqueirinho ECJ, as it is called, like the others built by Vale, complies with the regulations of the National Mining Agency (ANM) regarding the adoption of measures to increase safety during the de-characterization phase.