Vale to relocate 50 people near dams, expanding ‘safety zone’

Brazilian miner Vale said on Wednesday it will relocate about 50 people near a series of tailings dams in the state of Minas Gerais to reflect concern that a wider area could be hit by a potential dam burst.

Vale said in a securities filing that the move to expand the "safety zone" around the Forquilha dams in the case of a dam collapse had been taken based on more conservative studies and an "extreme" hypothesis.

The expansion of the zone for the dams that are part of its Paraopeba complex complies with an agreement reached with Minas Gerais prosecutors, after the Brumadinho dam burst last year, killing more than 270 people.