Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, novel coronavirus, which is being followed by the company in March 16th, has been followed by steps and measures taken by the company to protect employees, businesses and communities from the threat of the new coronavirus outbreak.
Vale decided on the same day to reduce its mining operations at the voisey's Bay mine in Canada and maintain it for a period of four weeks to prevent the indigenous communities of Nunavut and INU in the Labrador region from falling into the new coronavirus epidemic. Although Vale's global operation departments have not detected positive for the new coronavirus, the company has decided to take preventive measures in consideration of the remote location of Labrador region and the high travel risk of flying to and from the local area. Vale will work with local communities and governments to ensure that company operations do not become a catalyst for inadvertent introduction of the virus into the community. The Changgang plant will continue to operate, and the production of nickel and cobalt will not be affected, because the plant has sufficient reserve of concentrate raw materials to meet the maintenance period of four weeks; however, the production of copper concentrate will be reduced proportionally during the shutdown period (the production of copper concentrate in voice Bay in 2019 is 25000 tons). The decision also has an impact on the voice Bay expansion project, which is currently transitioning to underground operations.
Vale also told novel coronavirus outbreak that restrictions on travel and equipment transportation were being reconsidered. The company plans to stop the Mozambique coal concentrator. Previously, the company had expected the shutdown to begin in the second quarter of 2020. At present, the company is evaluating the new shutdown date, which may have an impact on the coal guidance production in 2020.
In addition, due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus, most of Vale's employees and third-party employees will work at home from now on. This measure aims to protect the health and safety of employees by reducing the number of employees in the same work area and reducing the exposure opportunities of employees in public areas such as buses, subways and elevators.
Vale reaffirms its commitment to the safety of people and communities in which it operates and will update investors and markets in a timely manner. (Note: voisey's Bay mine is vale nickel mine)
