Vale is a global leader in the sustainable development of natural resources and is one of the world’s largest and most diverse mining companies. Vale’s Base Metals Division, headquartered in Toronto, is one of the industry’s largest producers of nickel. Operating in Canada for more than 100 years, with more than 5,000 employees, Vale’s goal is to continue its growth profitably, but only within a safe, environmentally respectful and sustainable environment. Vale is committed to meeting or exceeding MAC’s recommended TSM targets and is pleased to submit this summary of its 2018 performance.

ABORIGINAL AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Open and transparent communication, respectful engagement on concerns and issues, and diligent reporting to stakeholders are all firmly entrenched as the way in which Vale operates with Aboriginal communities and other communities of interest. Vale proudly operates Aboriginal and community outreach activities and management programs that meet TSM’s performance expectations in all its Canadian facilities, each tailored to the site and the neighbouring communities’ requirements.

Vale’s Thompson, Sudbury and Voisey’s Bay sites have achieved a Level AAA for all indicators under the TSM Aboriginal and Community Outreach Protocol. The Port Colborne Refinery earned a Level AAA for three of the four indicators and a Level A for Indicator 4.

In Sudbury, Vale collaborates with local First Nations and Métis communities to identify traditional lands and treaty rights potentially affected by its operations. The company provides engagement, dialogue and cultural training to employees and seeks traditional Aboriginal knowledge to support decisions and inform practices such as environmental monitoring.  In Sudbury, Vale and members of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation (AAFN) took an important step forward together with the signing of their first Relationship Agreement at the end of 2018.  Vale recognizes that it is privileged to operate in the traditional lands of the Anishnawbek, and this historic agreement provides a meaningful framework to further develop these important connections for years to come.

In 2018, our operations in Manitoba added the Business and Reconciliation calls to action to our Community Liaison Committee (CLC) Terms of Reference.  The CLC connects Vale, Thompson and neighbouring communities by holding quarterly stakeholders’ meetings on sustainable mining matters: environmental monitoring, economic development, careers and training and more.

At Voisey’s Bay, Vale’s COI identification process involved extensive community consultations for the environmental assessment of the mine and concentrator project, and the negotiation of separate Innu and Inuit impact and benefit agreements.

In Long Harbour-Mount Arlington Heights, where Vale has a new nickel processing plant and port facility, a community liaison committee connects the company and local residents quarterly, and a fisheries and aquaculture liaison committee communicates regularly with local fisheries and aquaculture stakeholders.  Significant improvements to Aboriginal and community engagement were made in Long Harbour with improvements in three of the four indicators.

ENERGY USE AND GHG EMISSIONS MANAGEMENT

Overall, Vale continues to improve its performance under the TSM Energy Use and GHG Emissions Management Protocol.  Voisey’s Bay improved from AA to AAA for one indicator while the Long Harbour Operations saw significant improvements for all indicators.  The Sudbury Operations improved in two indicators.  Both Port Colborne and Thompson, while each seeing improvements in two indicators, dropped in one indicator, highlighting a need to better define targets and continue to make gains on GHG emission performance.

TAILINGS MANAGEMENT

In Sudbury, where Vale has a large tailings facility, the Company maintained its Level AAA performance under the TSM Tailings Management Protocol for all indicators as a result of continued work completed by the third-party expert Tailings Review Board. The company has reviewed all tailings management policies with its COI, and senior management has endorsed and implemented the policies within budget allocations.

The Voisey’s Bay operation saw an improvement in one indicator from AA to AAA, while in Long Harbour, two indicators moved from AA to AAA.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING

All sites as well as Vale’s corporate offices satisfied the requirements of the TSM Crisis Management and Communications Planning Protocol. Crisis management planning and preparedness is a critical component of Vale’s risk management activities. Vale’s crisis management teams are well trained and are willing to respond to internal emergencies and help the community when possible. Testing of the crisis management system was conducted at all sites.

Vale’s “Sudbury Alerts” program was a finalist for the 2018 MAC TSM Excellence Award and was awarded the Emergency Services Recognition Award from the City of Greater Sudbury.  The Sudbury Alerts Program is a mass public notification service that enables Vale and the City to instantly send safety messages to the public, regardless of whether the emergency is associated with Vale’s operations. Sudbury Alerts is fully integrated into the local 911 command centre and communications network.

SAFETY AND HEALTH

At Vale, life matters most, and the company’s commitment to this core value is reflected in its TSM Safety and Health Protocol assessments, which confirm continued high performance at all sites.

For the fifth consecutive year, risk management efforts at Vale’s Voisey’s Bay Mine earned the company the John T. Ryan National Award, Select Mines, for the lowest lost time injury frequency. Not a single lost-time injury occurred there in all of 2018 – a year when a total of 1,089,432 hours were worked.

At Long Harbour, Safety and Health improvements were recorded in all five indicators while in Sudbury, the performance indicator moved from B to AA.  A lack of external audit resulted in a decrease in improvement at Thompson, Port Colborne and Voisey’s Bay.  This oversight is being corrected at these locations.

In 2017, Vale committed to an additional three years of national-level support for Threads of Life, a charity dedicated to promoting workplace health and safety and helping families touched by a work-related fatality, injury or occupational disease.

BIODIVERSITY

Vale maintains its commitment to continuous improvements under the TSM Biodiversity Conservation Management Protocol. The company’s performance is assessed at a Level A or higher at all sites while AAA ratings were achieved for all indicators at Long Harbour, Voisey’s Bay and Sudbury.  In Sudbury, Vale’s Biodiversity program was the 2018 MAC TSM Excellence Award recipient.  After more than a century of mining and logging activities, significant biodiversity initiatives are well underway at Vale’s Sudbury Operations. The goal is to return historically stressed lands and waterways back to their natural states. At the root of the Sudbury Biodiversity Program’s success is Vale’s use of restorative processes that improve biodiversity. The program is also bolstered by input and involvement from stakeholders, communities and experts, including government, students and conservationists.

In Manitoba, Vale’s SLAM Dunk in waste management program was a finalist for the 2018 MAC TSM Excellence Award.  SLAM Dunk is an innovative program at Vale’s Manitoba Operations with an ambitious goal of diverting 100% of waste materials from the landfill by adhering to the three R’s: reduce, reuse and recycle.

For more information, please visit www.vale.com/canada.