Vale SA Brazil’s second most valuable company is also the fifth largest global mining corporation. In 2022, it was as ranked by the Refinitiv ESG framework as best in its class of ‘diversified miners’ (1 out of 615). This score is remarkable considering Vale is being sued by the SEC for deliberately misleading investors of its ESG-related risks prior to the tailings pond disasters at Brumadinho in 2019. Ironically, this high ranking is a direct consequence of that disaster, which led to a 50 % drop in its share price and the dismissal of its CEO. The company subsequently invested in multiple high-profile ESG initiatives, particularly the enhanced monitoring of tailing storage facilities, accelerated remediation of environmental liabilities and the creation of compensation programmes for communities impacted by its operations. Vale operates the world’s second largest iron ore mine in the Carajás district of south-central Pará. Even before Brumadinho, ESG concerns had motivated the company to develop a dry-tailings management system at the S11D iron ore mine at the Carajás Serra Sur complex. Other sustainability-linked features at the site include a spatial layout that placed 97 % of its industrial facilities in previously deforested pasture outside the forest reserve where the mining concessions are located. Industrial innovations include an ore-hauling system that eliminates the use of diesel-powered trucks, which reduces carbon emission by ~50 %. According to corporate reports, the S11D mine is a template for how Vale will meet its commitment to be net carbon zero by 2050. Brazil’s…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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