Brazilian miner Vale has announced that it will spend $1.9 billion to decommission nine upstream iron ore tailings dams including 8B, B3/B4, Fernandinho, Forquilha I, Forquilha II, Forquilha III, Grupo, Sul Superior and Vargem Grande.
Vale said that, of the nine dams, two will be completely decommissioned within three years, five will be transformed into downstream dams prior to decommissioning, and two will have their safety factor increased within three years prior to decommissioning.
The company will spend between $150-200 million in 2019, around $500 million in 2020 and between $150-200 million in the following years. Vale said it also will be investing in ongoing assessments on engineering projects and expenses for other geotechnical structures.