Rio de Janeiro, September 7th, 2020 – Vale S.A. (“Vale”) informs
that Vale Canada Limited (“VCL”) has been unable to reach an agreement with New
Century Resources Limited (“NCZ”) to acquire its 95% stake in Vale Nouvelle
Caledonie S.A.S. (“VNC”). This ends an exclusivity period with New Century
Resources that was first announced on May 25th, subsequently
extended on July 28th, and ends on September 8th.
The initial search for potential purchasers for VNC followed a robust
and competitive process that involved an extensive analysis of expertise and
capacity as well as a commitment to upholding VNC’s social and environmental
obligations.
Vale will now start the required steps to place VNC on care and
maintenance, in preparation for a possible shutdown of the operation, should no
sustainable solution be found in the coming months. At the same time, the
company is continuing efforts with the French State, the South Province of New
Caledonia and VNC management to achieve a positive outcome for the future for
the operations.
“All parties to this negotiation have
invested significant effort in an attempt to reach a solution for the
sustainable future of VNC,” said Eduardo Bartolomeo, CEO of Vale. “Vale and everyone involved in the
divestment process – including the South Province of New Caledonia, the French
State and VNC management – continue to explore alternatives to create a viable
future for VNC, all of which will contemplate Vale’s exit. We remain hopeful of
a positive outcome and are working with all the parties involved with that
purpose in mind.”
Bartolomeo said that Vale will approach care and maintenance with the
highest degree of responsibility and respect for employees, the natural
environment and safety – including strong commitments to dam maintenance and
social obligations such as the Pact for Sustainable Development of the Great
South.
Ever since the Covid-19 outbreak began, our highest priority is the health and safety of our employees. Our IR team adopted work-from-home, and as we continue to face these new circumstances, we strongly recommend you prioritize e-mail and online engagement.
For further information, please contact:
Vale.RI@vale.com
Ivan Fadel: ivan.fadel@vale.com
Andre Werner: andre.werner@vale.com
Mariana Rocha: mariana.rocha@vale.com
Samir Bassil: samir.bassil@vale.com
This press release may include statements that present Vale’s expectations about future events or results. All statements, when based upon expectations about the future, involve various risks and uncertainties. Vale cannot guarantee that such statements will prove correct. These risks and uncertainties include factors related to the following: (a) the countries where we operate, especially Brazil and Canada; (b) the global economy; (c) the capital markets; (d) the mining and metals prices and their dependence on global industrial production, which is cyclical by nature; and (e) global competition in the markets in which Vale operates. To obtain further information on factors that may lead to results different from those forecast by Vale, please consult the reports Vale files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) and in particular the factors discussed under “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in Vale’s annual report on Form 20-F.
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