Vale faces leadership shakeup over Brumadinho dam disaster

Brazilian mining giant Vale is facing a shareholder rebellion at its upcoming annual meeting over a leadership shakeup, marking the first of its kind in Brazil.

Changes to the company's board came as a result of the 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster which resulted in the deaths of 270 people. The company also agreed to a $7 billion settlement over the crisis back in February.

Read more: Vale agrees to $7bn settlement over Brumadinho dam disaster

The new shakeup has been linked to the disaster, owing to significant corporate overhauls the company has planned to prevent further incidents.

Before this, Vale was also held responsible for the Fundão Dam disaster in Mariana four years prior, which it co-owned with Anglo-Australian mining company BHP.

This incident resulted in the deaths of 19 people, the destruction of entire communities and contaminated water supplies for hundreds of miles.

The Brumadinho disaster also saw the mining giant blacklisted by a number of investors, as well as leading to the EU instigating tailings dam regulations in its aftermath.

Vale also attempted to oversee a list of reforms to prevent further disasters from happening.

In March, the miner revealed it has currently spent in excess of $2.34bn in reparations for the disaster.

It is also looking to implement at least 105 business and structural changes that have been identified via review.

Its upcoming annual meeting will also see some restructuring of the company at the behest of rebel shareholders.

Its total independent board members are set to increase from three to seven, effective immediately. This will see 16 individuals in total will compete for 12 seats on the board, with the rebel shareholders having proposed four.

Up for grabs include the positions of chair and vice-chair in an attempt to increase transparency and make the company more accountable, it reports.

Shares in Vale continue to plummet, with news of this shakeup causing stocks to continue to dive.

The Brumadinho disaster is widely considered the worst environmental crisis in Brazilian history.

Read more: Brazilian farmers' lobbies divided over EU's Amazon deforestation complaints

Like the Fundão crisis, it polluted waterways for hundreds of miles, as well as affecting or displacing as many as 200,000 people.

It is one of a number of environmental crises the country has faced, including mass deforestation for farmland and  wildfires attributed to climate change.

Back to Homepage

Back to Metals & Mining