Brazilian mining giant Vale has cut ties with a pig-iron producer linked to illegal deforestation, reports Reuters.
Vale had been providing logistical and transport services to Sidepar, a Para-based pig iron producer accused by Brazil’s environmental enforcement agency IBAMA of using charcoal derived from illegal logging. IBAMA also linked two other pig-iron companies — Cosipar and Siderurgica Iberica — to environmental abuses. Pig-iron is used for making steel.
Vale has also come under criticism for its role in the Belo Monte dam, a project that will flood more than 40,000 hectares of rainforest by blocking the Xingu River, one of the Amazon’s largest tributaries. Vale is one of the biggest investors in Belo Monte.
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