The recovery of the Paraopeba river and its biodiversity is one of the most important propositions of our work. We have short, medium, and long-term measures underway. In 2019, we implemented a series of measures that prevented sediment from flowing into the river and contained the tailings. After containing the tailings and avoiding contamination of the river, we installed two river water treatment plants (ETAFs, Estações de Tratamento de Água Fluvial) that, by July 2020, returned more than 17 billion liters of water to the river – on average five times cleaner than the limit established by the National Council for the Environment (Conama, Conselho Nacional de Meio Ambiente).

Several studies are being carried out to assess the health of the Paraopeba river. And to meet the demands of the producers who depended on the river for carrying out their activities, Vale continues to distribute drinking water to the population through an initiative launched in January 2019 and which will be carried on until the collection from the river is authorized.

Alexandre Souza Cruz, a producer of milk and mozzarella cheese, plans to plant corn soon in his property that stretches ten kilometers along the riverbank. “So far, I haven’t run out of water. In addition to the water truck sent at the beginning, Vale provided me two water tanks, three water fountains for the animals, and made improvements in my water supply structure. All that to facilitate access to water,” he said.