Vale says it will sacrifice output for dam safety in Brazil

Vale SA, the world’s largest iron ore miner, vowed to sacrifice production for safety to avoid another instance of the tailings dam failures that have tarred its legacy – a move that sent metal prices and shares of rivals soaring.

Chief Executive Fabio Schvartsman vowed to take up to 10 percent of Vale’s output offline to decommission 10 dams similar to the one that burst on Friday in the town of Brumadinho, leaving hundreds missing and presumed dead.

Chinese iron ore futures jumped in early trade on Wednesday, and shares of mining rivals BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group lifted Australia’s benchmark metals and mining index to its best day in two years. [IRONORE/] [.AX]

The dramatic move by Vale was an effort to preempt tough questions about its safety record, as the Friday disaster at the Corrego do Feijao mine – where the death toll has reach at least 84 people – came just over three years after a similar dam burst at the nearby Samarco mine it co-owns with BHP.