This Friday (25th), Vale signed a Commitment Agreement with the Government of Minas Gerais, regulatory agencies and State and Federal Public Prosecutors, reinforcing the commitment to eliminate all its upstream structures in Brazil, as soon as possible, having as absolute priority the safety of people and care for the environment. The agreement brings more legal and technical safety to the process of decharacterization of the 23 dams upstream of the company in Minas Gerais, since the deadline defined in State Law 23.291/2019 (2/25/2022) was technically unfeasible, especially due to the necessary actions to increase safety during the works.

Under the terms of the agreement, a consideration of R$ 236 million was defined for the State. These funds must be directed to investments in social and environmental projects. The company follows the updates in the legislation together with the sector and competent bodies and will continue to fully comply with the legal determinations on the subject.

Since 2019, seven upstream structures - four in Minas Gerais and three in Pará - have been eliminated, out of the 30 mapped, practically 25% of the company's Decharacterization Program. For this year, the completion of the works and the reintegration of five more structures into the environment are planned. As a result, Vale expects to end 2022 with 40% of its structures of this type eliminated. This means that 12 of the 30 dams mapped will already be decharacterized.

The most recent update of the Decharacterization Program indicates that 90% of dams of this type will be eliminated by 2029 and 100% by 2035. The structures with a longer term are those with higher risk, more complex and involving a greater volume of tailings.

At the same time and in line with the best international practices for dam management, the company has intensified preventive, corrective and monitoring actions in its structures. These actions also reduce risks to upstream structures that will be eliminated until the preparatory and engineering stages for decharacterization are completed.

The elimination of upstream dams is part of the cultural transformation process that the company has been going through since the B1 dam collapse in Brumadinho. This transformation also includes the review of dam and tailings management processes and practices, with emphasis on the adoption of the Global Industry Standard for Tailings.

Management (GISTM), which establishes requirements for the safe management of tailings disposal structures and aims to avoid any harm to people and the environment.

Vale, as a member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), has made a public commitment to be 100% compliant with the 77 GISTM requirements in all its tailings disposal facilities by 2025.