Vale set to resume ops at Pará copper, nickel mines after supreme court ruling

The Brazilian supreme court ratified an agreement between mining giant Vale and representatives of Pará state authorities to allow the firm to resume operations at two key mining units in the northern state.

Earlier this year, Pará state environmental secretariat Semas suspended the operating permits of Vale's Sossego copper mine and Onça Puma nickel mine after allegations that the company had failed to comply with environmental requirements.

The company attempted to have local courts block the decision, but after failing to make any headway after months, the case ended up being handled by the supreme court to mediate.

"The companies must comply with a series of conditions, such as prioritizing hiring of local labor in the projects' direct areas of influence (São Félix do Xingu, Tucumã, Ourilândia do Norte, Canaã dos Carajás and Parauapebas). The mining companies also agreed not to remove people, in any situation, from around the projects without the prior knowledge of Semas," the supreme court said in a statement.

"Another requirement is that companies must redefine the project's areas of influence, identify impacts based on the new definitions and draw up an environmental control plan to mitigate them. If it is not possible to mitigate impacts related to the removal of affected families, Vale must fully compensate for the damages caused," it added.

According to Vale, with the supreme court ruling, the operating licenses should be reestablished by the environmental agency within 48 hours and it will then begin to resume operations "as soon as possible."