Vale Halts Nickel Processing at Onça Puma19 Jun 2019 Vale has...

Vale Halts Nickel Processing at Onça Puma

19 Jun 2019

Vale has halted its nickel processing operations at the Brazilian Onça Puma plant, complying with a Federal Regional Court’s request. The Court alleges that Vale has failed to undergo a requested environmental impact study on local communities affected by the mine’s by-products and pollution.

Mining at the site has been suspended since September of 2017, and a February 2019 court decision imposed the suspension of all operations at the site—both mining and processing. Vale, however, has kept processing activities ongoing until now, as the court has chosen to double the daily fine for continued operations to US$52,000.

The court decisions and suspensions are part of a seven-year ongoing dispute between Vale and the local communities around the project. Vale continues to challenge and appeal these decisions.