The chairman of the mining company Vale resigned after the tragedy that killed 186 people in Brazil

According to a statement, Schvartsman, 65, and other leaders submitted their application after the prosecutor's office and the federal police recommended his dismissal in mid-investigations on Friday.

"Requests for temporary resignation have been accepted immediately," the company said.

In a letter addressed to the company's board of directors and divulged to certain Brazilian media, his leader requested the temporary separation of his position "in favor of the continuity of the company's operations and the support provided to the victims and victims." their families. "

Although he has defended his management and dedication "day and night" since the outbreak of the tragedy to take care of the victims, collaborate in investigations and preserve the company's business, Schvartsman claimed that his presence to Vale "was perceived as such." as a disadvantage. "

Vale, the world's largest producer of iron ore, owned the dike that erupted on 25 January in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais State, causing a tsunami of 13 million cubic meters of mud and mine waste that was devastating. found in its wake and left a record of 186 dead and 122 missing.

In its fatal descent of about nine kilometers to the Paraopeba River, which is now polluted with sediment, it has destroyed the administrative facilities of the mine, the dining room where many employees have lunch, an inn and several houses. in the rural area of ​​Brumadinho.

For now, neither the company, which has received millions of fines and freezes to pay for future compensation, nor the authorities have given explanations about what happened.

Various organizations and political figures have attributed this tragedy to the apathy with which the company has addressed the issue of facility security.

Eight of his charges, laid on January 15 and charged with negligence, were released last Wednesday.

This is not the first time that Vale, privatized in 1997, has been involved in a disaster of considerable magnitude in recent years.

In 2015, a dike from a Samarco mine (a joint project of Vale and the Australian BHP) broke out, generating a new tide of mud that killed 19 people in Mariana (also in Minas Gerais) and constitutes the worst environmental disaster in history Brazil

Since the tragedy of Brumadinho, a lot of speculation has been made about the dismissal or resignation of Schvartsman, who took over the company in May 2017 under the slogan "Mariana Never Again".

With the departure of Schvartsman, the current executive director of Basic Metals, Eduardo Bartolomeo, will badume acting command of the company.

Vale, which is listed on the New York and Sao Paulo Stock Exchanges, lost more than a quarter of its value in the days following the tragedy, although it regained ground.

On Friday, the stock closed at 46.74 reais, down 16.9% from 24 January.

A few days after the tragedy, Vale announced the dismantling of 10 Brazilian plants similar to the broken Brumadinho dam, which would reduce the group's annual iron ore production by 40 million tonnes. 10% of its total production.

This announcement rocketed the international price of iron ore.

Last Thursday, the rating agency Moody's downgraded Vale's Baa3 rating to Ba1, with which it lost the investment grade rating.

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