Vale Minority Shareholders Elect Independent Member to Board

(Video: Brumadinho dam disaster occurred on January 25, 2019 – Dam owned by Vale)

By Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Minority shareholders of Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA succeeded in electing a representative to the board of directors at the company’s shareholder meeting on Tuesday, a person who attended the meeting told Reuters.

Independent member Patricia Bentes was elected under a new cumulative voting system instead of a single vote to approve all names proposed by controlling shareholders.

Broker Vic DTVM and fund Geração Futuro Lpar proposed Bentes, who shut out Clarissa Lins, the candidate presented by controlling shareholders.

Vale’s controlling shareholders are Bradespar SA, Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd and Litel, which holds the stakes of some Brazilian pension funds.

The company said it has created a special directorship responsible for overseeing the repair and development of the area impacted by the collapse of the Brumadinho dam in Minas Gerais and appointed veteran engineer Marcelo Kleinnamed to head it.

At least 233 people died as a result of the collapse.

Kleinnamed, who has been with Vale for 27 years, has been coordinating the rapid response team set up after the disaster. He will report directly to Vale’s new CEO, Eduardo Bartolomeo, on the progress of the repair operations.