VALE : S.A. : Vale declares force majeure on iron ore shipments

Rio de Janeiro, January 11, 2012 - Vale S.A. (Vale) informs that it is declaring force majeure (FM) on a number of its iron ore sales contracts effective from today, January 11, 2012. We are communicating with customers as required under our agreements with them.

High rainfall since mid-December 2011 and continuing over the last few days in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo has created serious challenges to the operations of our Southeastern and Southern Systems.  Several areas of these states are flooded and local governments have declared a state of emergency in a number of municipalities.

So far, we estimate a loss of 2 million metric tons in iron ore shipments.

We will disclose further information related to the evolution of these events until the situation has been normalized.

 

For further information, please contact:

[phone]

Roberto Castello Branco: [e-mail]

Viktor Moszkowicz: [e-mail]

Carla Albano Miller: [e-mail]

Andrea Gutman: [e-mail]:
mailto:[e-mail]

Christian Perlingiere: [e-mail]

Fernando Frey: [e-mail]

Marcio Loures Penna: [e-mail]

Samantha Pons: [e-mail]

Thomaz Freire: [e-mail]

This press release may include statements that present Vale's expectations about future events or results. All statements, when based upon expectations about the future and not on historical facts, involve various risks and uncertainties. Vale cannot guarantee that such statements will prove correct. These risks and uncertainties include factors related to the following: (a) the countries where we operate, especially Brazil and Canada; (b) the global economy; (c) the capital markets; (d) the mining and metals prices and their dependence on global industrial production, which is cyclical by nature; and (e) global competition in the markets in which Vale operates. To obtain further information on factors that may lead to results different from those forecast by Vale, please consult the reports Vale files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, and in particular the factors discussed under "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in Vale's annual report on Form 20-F. 

Vale declares force majeure on iron ore shipments:
http://hugin.info/144918/R/1579421/492842.pdf

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Source: Vale S.A. via Thomson Reuters ONE

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