Vale was dealt back-to-back blows on Tuesday as Brazilian officials announced criminal charges including for homicide in the wake of last year’s deadly dam collapse, while a prosecutor indicated additional output cuts may be on the horizon.
Former CEO Fabio Schvartsman was charged with 270 counts of homicide, and the world’s largest iron ore miner and a contractor, TUV SUD, were accused of environmental crimes. Minas Gerais state prosecutors allege that the 65-year-old executive, who was at the helm when the Brumadinho disaster unleashed a deluge of sludge that buried a small town, knew about the risks, but made false statements and hid information to protect the company’s share price. “Fabio Schvartsman acted directly to create corporate incentives, not to avoid risks, but to channel efforts into protecting Vale’s market value,” William Coelho, a state prosecutor, told reporters in Minas Gerais. Schvartsman took over in 2017, a little less than two years after the Mariana tailings dam collapsed in a separate accident, killing 19. “He entered the role with the slogan ‘Mariana Never Again,’ but it was a false slogan.”