AP funds lose confidence in miner Vale after Brazilian dam disaster

The Council on Ethics of the Swedish AP funds has lost confidence in the mining company Vale and is looking to pull away from an investment of billions of SEK following the dam disaster in Brazil, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter wrote.

So far 65 people have been confirmed killed by firefighters when a burst tailings dam sent a sea of mud and sludge into a canteen and nearby houses in Brazilian town Brumadinho. However, 279 people are still unaccounted for, and officials have said it was unlikely that any would be found alive, according to Reuters.

Council on Ethics of the AP funds secretary-general John Howchin told Dagens Nyheter that its confidence in Vale after the accident is “non-existent”.

“I’m so angry I am lost for words. If there was any risk of an accident one has to question the measures taken by the company,” he told the newspaper. “We will review our recommendations and it is extremely difficult for me to see that we will not recommend the AP funds to exclude this company.”

Howchin also said he is very critical of how the company has managed their security. Vale, which is Brazil’s biggest mining company, was also involved in the November 2015 dam accident which cost 19 lives in Mariana.

The 2015 accident was described as Brazil’s worst environmental disaster and resulted in severe consequences for the environment in the area, such as a large amount of killed fish.

At that time the AP funds’ held a SEK 1.7bn investment in Vale, and the Council on Ethics decided to keep the investment as Vale had ”taken action by inspecting other mining dams and by helping the inhabitants in the region. As long as nothing else is revealed the Council on Ethics will regard this as an accident and will observe the future development”.

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