[ferro-alloys.com]By 4pm this Sunday (February 10), Vale had registered and accommodated 492 people from the rural communities of Socorro, Piteira, Tabuleiro and Vila do Gongo. Of those, 243 were sent to six hotels and the other ones preferred to stay at relatives' homes. All residents have left the rural communities.

Vale will offer them transportation to/from work or schools in the region throughout this week. The school year has not yet started in the Municipal Public School System.

Security forces are concentrated at the Universidade Aberta do Brasil, in the neighborhood of Cidade Nova. Vale provided a multidisciplinary team of psychologists, social assistants and physicians at the hotels and at the Help Center located at the Nossa Senhora do Rosário Municipal School.

Civil Defense has defined a plan to receive and assist the fauna. At this moment, the priority is to feed 1,500 animals. This task is being carried out by teams from Vale, the Civil Defense, the Environmental Police and the Regional Council of Veterinary Medicine. Should the need arise, these animals will be taken to a farm rented by Vale and already equipped to shelter them. Also, two veterinary hospitals have been hired.

Inspection of the Sul Superior Dam

This Sunday, a German company specializing in stability analysis inspected the Sul Superior dam in Gongo Soco.  The inspection was monitored by teams from Vale and Brazil's National Mining Agency (ANM). Over the next days, advisors will collect and analyze data and issue an opinion, which will define the next measures to be adopted by Vale, if any. Residents of the area will remain in hotels and relatives' homes until this work is completed.

As a preventive measure, Vale is enhancing the inspections of the Sul Superior dam, now carried out by experts in a 24/7 special scheme. Our team of experts did not detect any abnormality in the last check.

Vale highlights that the decision to evacuate the areas near the Gongo Soco dam is a preventive measure, and that the company will keep on supporting the population until the situation stabilizes.

(Vale Official)

• [Editor:王可]