Rio de Janeiro, January 31, 2012 - Vale S.A. (Vale) informs that its underground nickel mines in the Sudbury Basin in Canada have temporarily stopped operation.
Given an accident which caused a fatality last Sunday, January 29, the stoppage was made in order to conduct a general review of safety conditions in the mines. As we have a strong focus on health and safety, the review is being made in order to minimize accident risks, which are regrettable given not only the negative economic consequences but primarily due to the likelihood of human losses.
There is no impact on finished nickel production as the Clarabelle mill and the Copper Cliff smelter and the Copper Cliff nickel refinery continue to operate normally with sufficient feed stock for the near term.
As soon as the Sudbury underground mining operations return to normalcy Vale will make it public.
For further information, please contact:
+55-21-3814-4540
Roberto Castello Branco: roberto.castello.branco@vale.com
Viktor Moszkowicz: viktor.moszkowicz@vale.com
Carla Albano Miller: carla.albano@vale.com
Andrea Gutman: andrea.gutman@vale.com
Christian Perlingiere: christian.perlingiere@vale.com
Fernando Frey: fernando.frey@vale.com
Marcio Loures Penna: marcio.penna@vale.com
Samantha Pons: samantha.pons@vale.com
Thomaz Freire: thomaz.freire@vale.com
This press release may include statements that present Vale's expectations about future events or results. All statements, when based upon expectations about the future and not on historical facts, involve various risks and uncertainties. Vale cannot guarantee that such statements will prove correct. These risks and uncertainties include factors related to the following: (a) the countries where we operate, especially Brazil and Canada; (b) the global economy; (c) the capital markets; (d) the mining and metals prices and their dependence on global industrial production, which is cyclical by nature; and (e) global competition in the markets in which Vale operates. To obtain further information on factors that may lead to results different from those forecast by Vale, please consult the reports Vale files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, and in particular the factors discussed under "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in Vale's annual report on Form 20-F.
Vale about Sudbury mining operations
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Source: Vale S.A. via Thomson Reuters ONE
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