Brazilian iron ore miner Vale has announced that it has decommissioned its Área IX iron ore waste dam in Ouro Preto, completing 57 percent of its upstream structures decommissioning program. The program began in 2019, following the collapse of the miner’s B1 dam in Brumadinho and 17 dams have been shut down so far, out of 30 planned to be decommissioned.
The Área IX dam was built using upstream technology, the same technology used in the Brumadinho dam. In the meantime, Vale is still carrying out decommissioning works at the Grupo dam as well as the Forquilha I, Forquilha II and Forquilha III dams.
Additionally, Vale will begin works to reclaim the terrain, build a drainage system and revegetate the area on which the dams are located.
