Rio de Janeiro, January 26, 2012 - Vale S.A. (Vale) informs it was granted the operation license for the N5 Sul pit, which is part of the N5 mine in the Serra Norte mining site at Carajás, Pará, Brazil. This operation will support the quality enhancement in the iron ore production in Carajás over the following years.

The operation license allows the opening of a new ore body in the N5 mine - which has the highest ferrous content within our portfolio - strengthening Vale's position as the leading global producer of high quality iron ore.

 

For further information, please contact:

+55-21-3814-4540

Roberto Castello Branco: roberto.castello.branco@vale.com

Viktor Moszkowicz: viktor.moszkowicz@vale.com

Carla Albano Miller: carla.albano@vale.com

Andrea Gutman: andrea.gutman@vale.com

Christian Perlingiere: christian.perlingiere@vale.com

Fernando Frey: fernando.frey@vale.com

Marcio Loures Penna: marcio.penna@vale.com

Samantha Pons: samantha.pons@vale.com

Thomaz Freire: thomaz.freire@vale.com

This press release may include declarations about Vale's expectations regarding future events or results. All declarations based upon future expectations, rather than historical facts, are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Vale cannot guarantee that such declarations will prove to be correct. These risks and uncertainties include factors related to the following: (a) the countries where Vale operates, mainly Brazil and Canada; (b) the global economy; (c) capital markets; (d) the mining and metals businesses and their dependence upon global industrial production, which is cyclical by nature; and (e) the high degree of global competition in the markets in which Vale operates. To obtain further information on factors that may give rise to results different from those forecast by Vale, please consult the reports filed with the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Vale's most recent Annual Report on Form 20F and its reports on Form 6K.

Vale gets environmental license for Carajás:
http://hugin.info/144918/R/1580853/493680.pdf



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Source: Vale S.A. via Thomson Reuters ONE

HUG#1580853