About the program
The Upstream Dam Decharacterization Program covers 30 structures and is expected to be completed by 2035. Decharacterization is a complex technical process, and each structure has its own characteristics and challenges. For this reason, the timeline for each project is determined based on site-specific studies, ensuring that every stage is carried out with full control and safety.
Learn more about the Upstream Dam Decharacterization Program.
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Social Investments
Aligned with Vale’s social ambition to be a partner in building autonomous communities and committed to sustainable mining, the Upstream Dam Decharacterization team, together with the Community Relations and Institutional Relations teams, has been developing social initiatives focused on local socioeconomic development. Some of these initiatives also promote diversity and inclusion, seeking to create more equitable opportunities and contribute to fairer, more representative communities.
Commitment to safety and the environment
Community safety and environmental preservation are priorities for Vale. Accordingly, since 2019, we have been implementing a program to eliminate all our dams in Brazil built using the upstream construction method—a method that is no longer used by the Company.
Photo: Pedro Gravatá
Upstream Dam Decharacterization Program
Timeline for structures undergoing and scheduled for decharacterization
Downstream Containment Structures (DSR)
As part of its efforts to enhance safety during the decharacterization of higher-risk dams, Vale has built downstream containment structures.
These additional structures are installed downstream of the main dam to contain tailings and limit the spread of material in the unlikely event of a failure during the decharacterization process. This preventive measure reinforces Vale’s commitment to protecting communities and the environment.
Photo: Fernando Piancastelli
Between 2020 and 2022
We completed the construction of four downstream containment structures in Minas Gerais: one for the Sul Superior dam at Gongo Soco; one for the Forquilha I, Forquilha II, Forquilha III and Grupo dams, located between Ouro Preto and Itabirito; one for the B3/B4 dam in Nova Lima; and one for the Minervino and Cordão Nova Vista dikes in the Pontal System in Itabira.
In 2024
Following the completion of the decharacterization of the B3/B4 dam in Nova Lima, the downstream containment structure built for the project was removed and the area was reintegrated into the surrounding environment.
In 2025
We completed construction of Downstream Containment Structure 2 in the Pontal System in Itabira. The structure was built to enable the decharacterization of the Minervino and Cordão Nova Vista dikes.
Photo: Videodelivery
B3/B4: a milestone in dam decharacterization
The decharacterization of the B3/B4 dam, located at the Mar Azul mine in Macacos (Nova Lima, Minas Gerais), was a milestone for Vale and for safe dam management in Brazil. In May 2024, the decharacterization process was completed, making B3/B4 the first dam built using the upstream construction method—and the first to have reached the highest emergency level (Level 3)—to be fully eliminated.
The work was carried out using fully autonomous equipment, operated remotely, ensuring zero risk to operators throughout the project. A total of 3.3 million cubic meters of tailings were removed within a timeframe considered rapid given the project’s complexity.
As well as eliminating the risks associated with the structure, the project included environmental restoration and community revitalization initiatives, reinforcing Vale’s commitment to people’s safety, the protection of communities and environmental recovery.
Technical reports
In accordance with the Dam Decharacterization Commitment Agreement signed with the relevant regulatory authorities and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Vale publishes technical reports on the progress of the decharacterization work on its upstream dams. Access the reports below:
2024 Edition
May
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