Vale says risk of dam break at Gongo Soco mine has diminished

An unstable embankment at Vale’s Gongo Soco mining pit in Brazil has a lower risk than previously thought of collapsing in a way that would destabilize the nearby Sul Superior dam, the iron-ore miner said in a statement on Tuesday.

Last week, an environmental official for the state of Minas Gerais estimated a 10% to 15% chance of the Sul Superior dam losing integrity due to tremors from the expected landslide in the mining pit.