Vale warns of another iron ore tailings dam rupture

Brazilian mining company Vale has alerted authorities about the risk of rupture of a tailings dam at its closed Gongo Soco iron ore mine.

The Minas Gerais public prosecutors' office said any rupture at the dam, called the Sul Superior Dam, may occur during 19-25 May.

Vale has clarified that "there are no technical elements so far that point towards an eventual slide of the northern slope of the Gongo Soco mine, which could act as a trigger for a breach of the Sul Superior Dam." But it has increased its information about the possibility of a rupture in the dam to the population at risk.

Gongo Soco has not been operational since 2016 so there is unlikely to be any impact on iron ore supplies from Vale. But a dam rupture may affect Vale's efforts to start operations at other mines where operations have been fully or partially suspended since the 25 January tailings dam accident at Feijao iron ore mine that killed 237 people.

The most active iron ore contract on the Dalian commodity exchange continues to be bullish, rising by more than 4pc in today's morning session largely about supply concerns for Australian and Brazilian iron ore supplies.