Vale, the world’s largest iron-ore miner, said on Monday that it would slash output from its Brucutu mine for up to two months as it evaluates the stability of the nearby Laranjeiras dam, where much of the mine’s waste is normally disposed.
The move will leave Brucutu, Vale’s biggest mine in Minas Gerais state, the industry’s longtime heartland, operating at 40% of normal capacity for the period, cutting its output by 1.5-million tonnes.