Brazil prosecutors ask court to remove Vale managers over mine disasters

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Rio de Janeiro (Reuters) – Federal prosecutors in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state said on Wednesday they are seeking a court order for miner Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) to replace executives they accuse of disregarding human rights in the aftermath of two mining disasters.

They asked a court in Belo Horizonte to name an interventor to take charge of the company’s safety program.

Prosecutors also asked all dividend payments be suspended until the interventor confirms the company is cooperating.

Prosecutors want the interventor to identify within 15 days executive managers and other top management members who should be removed from their positions and replaced in a corporate reshuffle.

The interventor would be charged with drawing up a plan to reshape Vale’s governance system to comply with international standards for disaster prevention measures, transparency and the development of business activities that respect human rights, prosecutors claim.

The governance system adopted today by the mining company has generated extensive and profound damage to society, in addition to being disrespectful of human rights, the prosecutors say in a statement.

The so-called Brumadinho task force of prosecutors was set up after Jan. 2019 disaster at a Vale mine where a dam burst killing 270 people. An earlier dam burst occurred in 2015 at a mine in Mariana owned jointly by Vale and BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) Ltd causing Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.

The governance restructuring plan would require approval by the court.

The prosecutors said that, contrary to what Vale has publicly stated and the data it discloses, the company has developed over time an internal culture of disregard for environmental and human risks.

The lawsuit states that the two dams burst “due to Vale’s lack of commitment to the safety of tailings dams and, consequently, to the environment and life.”