January 31, 2011 – Vale is pleased to announce that a new five-year collective agreement has been ratified by the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9508 representing mine and mill operations employees at Voisey’s Bay, Labrador. The settlement marks the end of the strike that began August 1, 2009.

Highlights of the new five-year agreement include improvements to employee wages and the Defined Contribution Pension Plan, a cost-of-living allowance roll-in and changes to the employee bonus program. The agreement also includes a special $2000 Return to Work payment and an additional $2000 Retention Bonus payable three months following ratification of the new Collective Agreement.

“We are very pleased that our mine and mill operations employees have ratified the new Collective Agreement and we look forward to their return to work and the resumption of normal operations,” said Tom Paddon, General Manager of Vale’s operations in Newfoundland and Labrador. “It has been a very long and challenging time for everyone involved and we are pleased that that the strike is finally behind us,” Paddon said. Read the rest of this entry »

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper. This article was originally published in the Financial Post on January 25, 2011.

Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva harshly criticized Agnelli for slashing
investment and firing 2,000 workers after the 2008 financial crisis. Vale raised
capital spending again following heavy government pressure.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Markets dictate that corporate managers who create the most value for shareholders keep their jobs. But for Brazil’s two biggest companies, state-controlled oil firm Petrobras and mining giant Vale, the reality may shape up to be exactly the opposite.

Roger Agnelli, who over a decade helped transform Vale into the world’s leading iron ore producer, is under fire for not creating enough jobs in Brazil and rumors are swirling that President Dilma Rousseff could lobby for his ouster.

In contrast, Jose Sergio Gabrielli may stay on as Petrobras CEO despite a US$38-billion tumble in market value last year sparked by a plan that boosted government control over the company despite complaints from private shareholders.

Although Brazil is still a hot destination for emerging market investments, the apparently diverging fate of the two chief executives is a reminder that political interference is still a risk in Latin America’s largest economy.

As Brazil flexes its economic muscles and boosts its global influence, investors fear its companies could be vulnerable to government pressure to lead economic development efforts at the expense of private shareholders. Read the rest of this entry »

Carol Mulligan is a reporter for the Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. cmulligan@thesudburystar.com

“As a matter of fact, in the North Atlantic, we are the centre of excellence for
underground mining globally for Vale. Vale’s operations are mostly open pit,
big iron ore mines. However, if we’re to develop a deposit in Africa … they will
come to us for mining expertise.” (Vale’s John Pollesel January 20, 2011)

The head of Vale’s North Atlantic operations isn’t putting much stock in rumours that Roger Agnelli could be on his way out as chief executive of Vale’s parent company in Brazil.
John Pollesel, chief operating officer for Vale in Canada and the UK , said a report that a majority shareholder in Vale is trying to replace Agnelli is unfounded.

When asked if things might change in Sudbury if Agnelli were replaced, Pollesel said: “Sudbury directly may not feel the effects of something like that, but that’s just a rumour. There’s no, in speaking to (Vale CEO) Tito (Martins) earlier this week, he explained to us that … that’s just a rumour.”

Another frequent comment that is untrue is that Vale operations in Canada are being run out of Brazil, Pollesel told The Sudbury Star in an editorial board meeting this week.

“We hear often, and I get a little frustrated when I hear this, that things are being run out of Brazil. Well, no, that’s not the case,” said Pollesel. Read the rest of this entry »

Carol Mulligan is a reporter for the Sudbury Star, the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

“There was going to be no buyer, there were going to be no jobs, there weren’t going to be any capital investments, there was going to be no employer. That was the Valley of Death that Sudbury faced.”  Tony Clement (July 18, 2009)

Sudbury is better off now than it was two and a half years ago when Vale Inco Ltd. bought the former Inco Ltd., says Canada’s Industry minister.

If the Brazilian-owned Companhia Vale do Rio Doce hadn’t bought it, Inco would “not exist, it would have been closed down, it would have been liquidated if there wasn’t a buyer,” said Tony Clement in a telephone interview late Friday afternoon.

“There was going to be no buyer, there were going to be no jobs, there weren’t going to be any capital investments, there was going to be no employer,” said Clement. “That was the Valley of Death that Sudbury faced.”

Clement was responding to charges by United Steelworkers international president Leo Gerard that the federal government should have forced Vale Inco to live up to commitments made when it purchased Inco. Read the rest of this entry »

The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous impact and influence on Canada’s political and business elite as well as the rest of the country’s print, radio and television media. Originally published July 22, 2009

“There was going to be no buyer, [for Inco] there were going to be no jobs, [Sudbury] there weren’t going to be any capital investments, there was going to be no employer.” — Industry Minister Tony Clement

“He’s either sadly misinformed or he’s ignoring the facts because back in 2006 we were a very successful company. There were lots of companies trying to buy us, not just [Vale].”— Scott Hand, Inco’s former CEO

The wave of foreign takeovers that cut a swath through Canada’s resource sector in 2006 and 2007 has become a critical problem for Industry Minister Tony Clement as the new owners break their acquisition promises not to slash jobs and production.

Mr. Clement is under fire for ill-informed comments regarding the sale of nickel producer Inco to a Brazilian mining giant, and for taking an inconsistent approach to enforcing the commitments the foreign companies made in order to win Ottawa’s consent for the controversial deals.

Last week, the government took the extraordinary step of going to court to demand United States Steel Corp. meet job and production pledges that were part of its acquisition of Stelco Inc. in 2007. The move, a first in Canada, has shocked industry and legal observers who say that Industry Canada has been much more flexible with other foreign buyers.

But Mr. Clement then portrayed Inco’s acquirer, Brazil’s Vale SA, as a local saviour – even though Vale, too, is cutting jobs earlier than promised, closing operations and grappling with a strike. Mr. Clement said Sudbury, the site of Inco’s flagship nickel operations, would have become a “Valley of Death” if the Brazilians hadn’t bought the company for $19-billion. Read the rest of this entry »

Mining Weekly is South Africa’s premier source of weekly news on mining developments in Africa’s most important industry. Mining Weekly provides in-depth coverage of mining projects and the personalities reshaping the mining industry. In order to advance Mining Weekly’s objective of positioning itself as a leading global provider of mining news, a full-time correspondent is based in Toronto, Canada and another in Perth, Australia. 

The website provides real time news reportage through originated written, video and audio material. Liezel Hill is Mining Weekly’s North American Deputy Editor.

For a detailed analysis by Liezel Hill on Vale’s recent commitment to invest $10 billion in its Canadian operations, please visit: http://www.miningweekly.com/article/vale-talks-up-its-canadian-investment-plans-2010-11-26

Steve Ashton was first elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 1981 for the New Democrat Party (NDP). He was re-elected in the general elections of 1986, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007. In October 2009, he was appointed as Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, Minister Responsible for Emergency Measures and Minister Responsible for the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation. His daughter, Niki Ashton, is also a politician and is the New Democratic Party MP for the riding of Churchill.

Vale’s announcement that they are eliminating the surface operation here in Thompson is unacceptable.

Since the 1950′s Thompson has had a fully integrated mining operation.  The development of the refinery and smelter were integral parts of the 1956 agreement that established Thompson.

In good times and in bad times our community and our province have always been there to work with Inco, now Vale. In the process we have developed one of the best mining, smelting and refining operations in the world.

Vale’s announced shut down of the surface operations in Thompson came without any discussion about solutions with key stakeholders or the provincial government. I have never seen a more arrogant and insensitive move.

Read the rest of this entry »

RELEASE, 17 November, 2010

Vale’s latest “investment” announcement continues a public-relations campaign more concerned about image than providing net benefits to Canadian communities.

“Vale’s announcement today is perhaps the most cynical public relations exercise we have seen yet from this foreign corporation,” said Ken Neumann, the United Steelworkers union’s National Director for Canada.

“While it claims to meet its commitments under the Investment Canada Act, Vale decides to close the smelting and refining facilities in Thompson, Manitoba,” Neumann said.

“This closure will eliminate a crucial value-added component of Thomson’s mining operations, potentially killing more than 500 jobs and dealing a devastating blow to the community.

“This clearly demonstrates Vale’s lack of commitment to Manitoba. Rather than invest in its Thomson operations, Vale opts to cut 40 per cent of its workforce and wreak more havoc on Canadian working families.” Read the rest of this entry »

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper. Terence Corcoran’s editorial opinion was originally published on November 18, 2010.

This cannot be true. The Brazilian mining giant Vale announced $10-billion in new investment in Canada, building new facilities, opening new mines, pouring fresh capital into Sudbury. Where did this come from? For weeks now, the only thing Canadians knew of Vale is that the company was the despicable foreign investor that swooped in and took over Inco and pretty much made Canada look like a sucker.

In the context of BHP Billiton’s $40-billion plan to take over Potash Corp., the Vale takeover of Inco was routinely cited as the kind of soul-destroying foreign investment Canada should stop accepting. Look what they did in Sudbury, where Vale fought the unions, forced a prolonged shutdown, and left the local community devastated.

Or maybe not. Vale didn’t leave town, or Canada, and it now appears set to sink a lot of money into various projects across the country, including $3.4-billion into Sudbury’s century-old nickel and copper operations. The plan includes the first new Sudbury mine in more than 40 years.

The new money, spread across Canada, comes on top of $1.7-billion Vale says it has invested in various capital projects over the last three years — about 50% more than had been invested by the old Inco operation in the previous three years.

A company official also says Vale has exceeded whatever commitments it made to satisfy Investment Canada’s “net benefits” test when it bought Inco. The new $10-billion plan is above and beyond those old commitments, which are about to end. Vale, in other words, appears to be doing a better job at keeping Canadian mining alive than its predecessors. If that is an exaggeration, it is certainly true that Vale has emerged as a great boon to Canadian mining that is no less than would have been achieved under the old national champion known as Inco.

As the Conservatives try to soft-shoe out of their rejection of the BHP Billiton takeover of Potash, the Vale experience makes that decision look even more preposterous. The net benefits of Vale’s presence in Canada seem obvious, as are the net losses arising from the Potash decision.

November 17, 2010

Vale’s Proposed Shutdown of Smelter, Refinery Operations Completely Unacceptable: Selinger

Premier Greg Selinger today called on the owners of Vale’s Thompson operations to work with the Province of Manitoba, the City of Thompson and the United Steelworkers union to immediately seek alternative solutions to closing the smelter and refinery in Thompson by 2015.
 
“This decision comes without due notice or proper consultation with our government and the City of Thompson,” said Selinger.  “Vale’s intended course of action is unacceptable and our government stands firmly with the people of Thompson in saying this job loss will have a significant impact on the community and the province.”
 
The proposed shutdown of the Thompson smelter and refinery would result in a loss of about 500 jobs or 40 per cent of the current Vale Thompson workforce.
 
“We have a long and very successful history of supporting the mining industry through initiatives such as training, taxes and geoscience,” said Innovation, Energy and Mining Minister Dave Chomiak.  Read the rest of this entry »

Vale's Thompson, Manitoba Operations - Photo by Jeanette Kimball

This article was originally published in the Thompson Citizen which was established in June 1960. The Citizen covers the City of Thompson and Nickel Belt Region of Northern Manitoba. The city has a population of about 13,500 residents while the regional population is more than 40,000.

Thompson NDP MLA Steve Ashton denounces Vale’s ‘arrogance’ in blistering words

November 17, 2010 – BY JOHN BARKER
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

Brazilian mining giant Vale said today it plans to phase out its smelting and refinery operations at Manitoba Operations by 2015, eliminating 500 jobs or a third of its local workforce, and focus on “developing new sources of ore as it transitions its operations to mining and milling….”

Vale dropped Inco from its name May 27 and its global nickel business is simply known now as Vale. It had operated around the world as Vale Inco since Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) re-branded itself less than three years ago on Nov. 29, 2007. “Vale” is pronounced (vah-lay) and literally means “valley” in Portuguese.

In a blistering “MLA Report” weekly column filed today at noon that will appear in print in Friday’s Nickel Belt News, Steve Ashton, Thompson NDP MLA and minister of infrastructure and transportation, as well as the minister responsible for emergency measures and the minister charged with the administration of the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation Act, says “Vale’s announcement that they are eliminating the surface operation here in Thompson is unacceptable.”

Ashton is the longest serving MLA in the Manitoba legislature, first elected 29 years ago today in the Nov. 17, 1981 provincial election. He is second in order of cabinet precedence to Premier Greg Selinger. Read the rest of this entry »

John Pollesel, Vale Canada COO and Director for Base Metals North Atlantic

John Pollesel is the Director for Base Metal Operations North Atlantic and Chief Operating Officer for Vale Canada, reporting to Tito Martins, Executive Director Base Metals and Vale Canada Chief Executive Officer.

John Pollsel has extensive management experience, specializing in the mining industry where he has been employed for more than 20 years. He joined Vale in August of 2008 in the capacity of VP Sustainability and Business Services for the Ontario Operations and in July of 2009 was promoted to the role of VP Production Services and Support for the Canada/UK region and General Manager for Ontario Operations.

Mr. Pollesel is a Fellow of the Society of Management Accountants of Ontario and a Certified Management Accountant. He graduated from Laurentian University with a Masters degree in Business Administration and holds an Honors BA in Accounting from the University of Waterloo.

Our objective is to create a sustainable, profitable and long-term operation in Sudbury – contributing further decades of employment, economic growth and community support. There is an important caveat, however. We must demonstrate our willingness and ability to become a more productive and efficient operation. Aspiring to the status quo is simply no longer an option. - John Pollesel, Sudbury, Ont.

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Thank you, and good evening everyone. It’s a pleasure to have been invited to speak to you at your Chamber’s Annual General Meeting.

Vale is a proud member of the Chamber of Commerce and we’ve been active on the Chamber’s Board for many years. In fact, personally I was proud to have sat as a Board member a few years back.

Vale and the Chamber have enjoyed a very long and productive relationship together…the Chamber has been there for us during some tough times, and we’ve been there for the Chamber as an active partner on a number of fronts. It’s a beneficial and productive partnership that we look forward to continuing.

I want to especially recognize Debbi Nicholson, who has been an exemplary leader of the Chamber for more than 30 years.

Debbi – you lead with dignity, good business sense and a keen awareness of what is best for our community. I congratulate you and your team on all the things you’ve accomplished throughout your long tenure with the Greater Sudbury Chamber.

* * * * *

Tonight, I am here to speak to you about Vale and our future in the Sudbury Basin.

Read the rest of this entry »

Stan Sudol is a Toronto-based communications consultant, who writes extensively about mining issues.(stan.sudol@republicofmining.com)

Toronto-based Business News Network (BNN) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel owned by CTVglobalmedia. BNN airs business and financial programming and analysis. You can’t go anywhere in Toronto’s financial district without seeing BNN broadcasting on television screens.

On September 17, 2010, BNN Anchor Reporter Andrew Bell, who hosts the very popular Commodities program visited Sudbury and broadcast four separate reports on the city’s globally significant mining sector.

The following description of the Commodities program comes from the BNN website: “From aluminum to zinc and everything in between, join BNN Tuesday through Friday for the latest insight into the hot world of commodities and the companies that produce them, including interviews with mineral and mining entrepreneurs from Canada and around the globe. Whether it’s a gold play in the Andes or a hot offshore oil prospect, BNN has you covered on commodities.”

I must confess that BNN reporter Andrew Bell did a terrific job of explaining the current status of Sudbury’s mining sector. Two key points that were highlighted are that Sudbury’s mining sector is world-class and will still be in operation for a least another hundred years and that the local mining supply and service sector has created thousands of well-paying, highly-skilled jobs that export their expertise throughout Canada and the world. A recent independent study overseen by the local Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) demonstrated that this sector created over 23,000 jobs and generated over $5.6 billion in gross sales in 2008.

Furthermore, many of the interviews were conducted on a beautiful green location overlooking Ramsey Lake which is located about 15 minutes from downtown Sudbury, helping overcome many of the negative images Canadians still have of the Mining Capital of Canada. The lake is the source of drinking water for much of the inner city.

However, it was Andrew Bell’s enthusiasm and excitment about reporting live from Sudbury that carried the four interviews. During his trip underground at the Quadra-FNX mine, he almost came across as a “kid in a candy store.” It’s gratifying to see someone from the Toronto media so excited about Sudbury and mining.

As Andrew Bell said on his BNN blog, “A definite highlight for me was the trip 2,000 feet underground to the Podolsky Mine run by Quadra FNX Mining. There, the walls sparkle with veins of ore so rich in metals, it crumbles in your fingers. …. Sudbury has unbeatable ore and a global-scale mining support sector and expertise perhaps the best anywhere in the world, but it has another important advantage: The ability to process ore using relatively little energy and producing relatively little carbon dioxide.”

After a year of depressing news from the region, his positive reports are greatly appreciated. I hope he comes back to Sudbury soon.

Links to the four reports from Sudbury follow:

BNN looks at Sudbury’s mining history and speaks to Randi Condie, retired Inco miner.

http://watch.bnn.ca/popular-videos/#clip349349

BNN gets a tour of Quadra FNX Mining’s Sudbury operations with the company’s CEO Paul Blythe.

http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip349350

BNN looks at what the mines mean for Sudbury with Mayor John Rodriguez.

http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip349365

BNN looks at how technology will change the future of the mining industry and what the future holds for Sudbury with Greg Baiden, professor, Laurentian University School of Engineering.

http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip349367

Originally published August 2, 2010

Last week, Newfoundland and Labrador – and scores of our working families – were saddled with a dubious Canadian distinction, the result of a foreign corporation’s aggressive and unprecedented anti-labour agenda.

The mining strike at Voisey’s Bay, provoked last summer by Brazil-based corporate giant Vale, entered its second year on Sunday, Aug. 1. The strike has become the longest-ever labour dispute in the century-long history of former Inco Ltd. mining operations in Canada.

Perhaps most disturbing is the fact this dispute is being prolonged by Vale’s second-class treatment of Newfoundland and Labrador workers compared to Vale employees elsewhere in Canada.

Our union, United Steelworkers Local 9508, has offered to settle the Voisey’s Bay strike by accepting the same deal Vale reached last month with its employees in Ontario. But Vale is attempting to dictate that workers in our province — including many aboriginal employees — accept a lesser contract, with inferior bonuses and benefits, compared to the Ontario settlement. Read the rest of this entry »

John Fera is the president of United Steelworkers Local 6500. He is retiring on August 1, 2010.

While United Steelworkers in Sudbury and Port Colborne are returning to work, it will take considerable time for many in our communities to overcome the pain and hardship of the year-long strike against Vale.

Indeed, over the last couple of weeks there has been consensus from all corners that it is essential for Vale to build respectful and productive relationships with its Canadian workers and their communities.

In this light, it is profoundly disappointing to see Vale’s top executives going out of their way to make public statements that show no interest in fostering trust, goodwill and respect with workers.

Vale’s CEO Roger Agnelli claims the strike was so prolonged because “the United Steelworkers has a long record of conflicts and strikes.” Well, I’m sorry Mr. Agnelli but the USW has been representing the miners in these communities for generations and in Vale’s first negotiations it has managed to extend their strike to more that 100 days longer than the longest ever strike at Inco.

Contracts for good wages, pensions and benefits typically have resulted from hard-nosed negotiations, short strikes and goodwill, until this unprecedented aggressive Vale approach.

Read the rest of this entry »