​By Sunday morning (17/2/19), Vale has registered 110 people in the region of Macacos, Nova Lima, 25 km from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, as part of the preventive actions set forth on the Emergency Action Plan for Mining Dams (PAEBM) of Dam B3/B4 of the Mar Azul mine. Of these, 42 are at hotels and the others preferred to stay with relatives. All residents have left the Self-Rescue Zone (ZAS).

 
Vale will fully assist and support the population until the situation stabilizes. The company provided accommodation, food, transportation, medicines and basic need items, and has a multidisciplinary team composed of psychologists, social assistants and physicians at the help centers, the Macacos Community Center and in two hotels in Belo Horizonte. 
 
This Sunday morning (17/2/19), the Military Police, following orientations of the Civil Defense, blocked the access to Macacos by the BR-040 and MG-030 highways (via Ecoville Condominium). Access to the region is available through the Passárgada road, via Vale do Sol, in Nova Lima. Only the neighborhood of Capela Velha had its access blocked.
 
Self-Rescue Zone evacuation and blocking will be maintained until Civil Defense and other relevant agencies determine otherwise. Those who were not contacted by the relevant agencies may stay at their homes. 
 
About the dam
 
Vale has intensified the inspections in Dam B3/B4, which are being conducted by specialized professionals on a special basis, with the presence of specialized professionals, round the clock. The company reinforces that there have not been any changes to the dam's technical data over the last months and that the latest inspections have not detected any relevant abnormalities. New inspections are being conducted together with Brazil's National Mining Agency (ANM), and the dam is undergoing previously scheduled external audit.
 
The company responsible for the dam decommissioning project has detected that the geotechnical and geological model could be different from that used today. Until divergences about the model are resolved, Vale chose to activate the PAEBM and keep the area evacuated, as a prevention measure.
 
Dam B3/B4 has been constructed using the upstream method and is part of the decommissioning plan announced by Vale.