Brazilian miner and iron ore producer Vale said on Wednesday it has increased the risk of its Norte/Laranjeiras dam located at its Brucutu mine to level 2, out of 3. Level 3 means a dam is likely to collapse, and as such, Vale said it had to remove 34 people living nearby the inactive dam.
Vale said the risk of the Norte/Laranjeiras dam was increased based on a company’s “conservative” analysis. The company said it didn’t detect any relevant changes in the dam structure.