NEWS RELEASE: VALE STATEMENT REGARDING CORONER’S INQUEST INTO FATALITIES AT STOBIE MINE

SUDBURY, April 17, 2015 — On Monday, April 20, a coroner’s inquest begins at the Sudbury Courthouse into the June 2011 deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram at Vale’s Stobie Mine. The purpose of the inquest is to review the circumstances around the deaths in hopes that similar deaths can be prevented in the future.

The deaths of Jason and Jordan continue to sadden our operations and our community. Revisiting events of June 2011 will be difficult for everyone involved. There will be a lot of testimony during the course of the inquest and it will be emotional for many, but will be hardest on the Fram and Chenier families. While we cannot turn back the clock, we hope the families find some comfort in the significant work done since that night to ensure this kind of tragedy never occurs again.

Following our own internal investigation into this incident, a plan of action, including more than 40 recommendations, was put in place to address the contributing factors and improve control measures to protect the health and safety of our employees.

We believe this work, coupled with the recent recommendations from the provincial Mining Health, Safety & Prevention Review, will help ensure that Vale and mining companies across Ontario become safer places to work.

It is our intention to learn everything we can through the coroner’s inquest that will take place in the weeks ahead. We will respect the process and participate fully as the coroner and jury consider the information put before them.

Safety continues to be our highest priority. The greatest honour we can provide to the memories of Jason and Jordan is through our rigorous determination to reach zero harm in the workplace. Nothing is more important than ensuring that our people return home safe every day.

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Contact:
Angie Robson
Manager, Corporate Affairs
Vale, Ontario Operations
(705) 682-5202
angie.robson@vale.com