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Brazilian authorities suspend Vale’s operations at Timbopeba

A Brazilian court has ordered mining giant Vale to suspend operations at its Timbopeba min, after a legal case was filed by the Public Prosecution Office of the State of Minas Gerais (MPEMG) against the company.

The company has also been banned from using the Doutor dam as well as operating other structures of the Timbopeba mine and it could be fined 500,000 reais ($131,000) per day if it disobeys the order.

Vale said the decision was based on a notification received by the MPEMG containing preliminary information on the Doutor dam. The suspension affects the operations of the Timbopeba mine with an impact of 12.8m tons of iron ore per year.

The court ruling comes after a deadly dam burst in January, which has seen authorities increase the scrutiny of Vale’s operations.

Last week, authorities ordered the temporary shutdown of Vale’s Guaiba Island Terminal and last month the company’s terminal at the Tubarao complex in Vitoria was also closed by authorities.

Jason Jiang

Jason is one of the most prolific writers on the diverse China shipping & logistics industry and his access to the major maritime players with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives. Having been working at Asia Shipping Media since inception, Jason is the chief correspondent of Splash and associate editor of Maritime CEO magazine. Previously he had written for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week.
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