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Mozambique court orders Vale to

disclose coal mining payments

MOZAMBIQUE MOZAMBIQUE’S Administrative Tribunal Tete Provincial Court sentenced Vale to pay
(TA) has sharply criticised Brazil’s Vale for its MZN14mn ($195,000) to 48 peasants of Chidwe
refusal to share information of public interest village, in Moatize district, who were unable to
concerning its coal mining activities in the west- reach their fields because of a fence Vale had built
ern province of Tete. illegally around its mine.
The TA rejected Vale’s appeal against a lower In January, Vale bought Mitsui & Co.’s 15%
court order requiring it to disclose the memo- stake in the Moatize coal mine and its 50% inter-
randum of understanding (MoU) it had entered est in the Nacala Logistics Corridor (NLC) for
into with the government and communities $1 each.
affected by the Moatize coal mine. The deal allows Mitsui to divest its interests in
The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) Mozambique’s coal business, and also paves the
also successfully argued Vale should disclose the way for Vale to consolidate its coal interests in the
agreements it has with all affected communities, country ahead of a sell-off.
details of the compensation paid to affected peo- Vale said that the transaction was in line with
ple and payments to the government between its focus on its core businesses and ESG agenda,
2013 and 2019. which calls for it to become carbon neutral by
A lower court ordered Vale to provide all 2050 and reduce 33% of its Scope 1 and 2 emis-
the information the OAM had requested, and sions by 2030.
so Vale then appealed to the Administrative Vale said that it had been implementing two
Tribunal. initiatives that are expected to produce sustain-
But according to a release from the OAM, the able results at the Moatize mine: a new mining
Tribunal threw out the appeal, and ruled that the plan and a new operational strategy for the coal
lower court’s decision stands. processing plants.
There was no legal basis, it said, to reverse The new mining plan prioritises ore bodies
the original decision. The lower court “correctly of better quality and has a better stripping ratio,
interpreted and applied the law when it con- which is expected to result in a better product
demned Vale-Mocambique for violating the mix and cost reduction, as an outcome of invest-
right to information of public interest”. ments made in the last three years in an intense
The OAM has now urged Vale to respect drilling campaign, aiming at a better knowledge
the law and make available all the information of resources and reserves.
requested, “so that it can contribute to a better The two processing plants will be revitalised
understanding of society about its commitments in an attempt to raise production to 15mn tonnes
under its coal mining operations”. per year in the second half of 2021 and 18mn tpy
This is the second defeat for Vale in in in 2022.™
Mozambique in 2021. On January 26, the

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 13 01•April•2021