Mining is an activity that is directly connected to the territory where mineral resources are available. For Vale, it is essential that operations are carried out with full respect for the rights of communities, their sociocultural diversity and recognizing the differentiated relationship they have with the territory, which involves not only physical and socioeconomic aspects, but also cultural and spiritual ones.
The relationship with these communities is guided by risk and impact management, and focuses on building and maintaining trust, supporting their autonomy and resilience, and contributing to mutual benefits.
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It is important to highlight that Vale does not hold mining rights on Indigenous Lands in Brazil. In 2021, the company relinquished all such rights and also withdrew its applications for exploration permits and mining concessions, including those in Indigenous Lands that had not yet been officially recognized. This decision was based on the understanding that mining in these territories can only take place with the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of the Indigenous peoples themselves and under legislation that properly regulates such activity.
Currently, Vale operates in traditional territories in countries where there is applicable legislation, such as Canada, where the company maintains the same commitments regarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples
On the Indigenous agenda, in 2022, Vale revised its strategy for engaging with these communities. The new approach is based on managing operational risks and impacts, contributing to institutional strengthening, and fostering value sharing and partnerships. This model, aligned with Vale's macro business strategy, is based on the pillars of building trust, autonomy, and resilience within communities, and creating mutual benefits.
From these pillars, the company established a voluntary agenda to support Indigenous rights, with a specific commitment to support all Indigenous Peoples neighboring Vale's operations by 2030 in developing and implementing plans to pursue rights as outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This also includes educational initiatives that contribute to their autonomy.
Where we are present
We also interact with 92 Traditional Communities in Brazil, 29 of which are related to the Brumadinho reparations process. These communities are highly diverse, and their definitions vary. In identifying and characterizing these communities, Vale applies prevailing legislation and international standards, even though they may often conflict with each other. The criteria we use include ethnic, social, and cultural diversity, specific rights, and these communities’ relationship with their territories and natural resources. Vale’s scope of interaction extends, for example, to Quilombolas; Geraizeiras; Peoples and Communities of Ancestral Religious Tradition of African Origin (PCTRAMA in Portuguese, because of the Brumadinho Reparations process); Gypsies; coconut breakers; riverside communities; and artisanal fishermen in the states of Pará, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Espírito Santo.
Indigenous Peoples relationship in Brazil
In Pará:
Kayapó
- Under implementation: programs specified in the Basic Environmental Plan of the Indigenous Component (PBA-CI) of the Onça Puma mining.
- Action from the Indigenous Rights Agenda finalized, through contribution to the elaboration of its Consultation Protocol and Territorial and Environmental Management Plans (PGTA), in 2024.
Xikrin do Cateté
- Under implementation: programs specified in the Basic
Environmental Plan of the Indigenous Component (PBA-CI) of the Onça Puma mining, compliance with environmental requirements related to the Salobo mining. Long-term agreement comprising initiatives in various areas.
- Under implementation: programs specified in the Basic
Environmental Plan of the Indigenous Component (PBA-CI) of the Carajás railway (EFC). Long-term agreement comprising initiatives in various areas.
In Maranhão:
Awá, Guajajara and Ka'apor
- Under implementation: programs specified in the Basic Environmental Plan of the Indigenous Component (PBA-CI) of the Carajás railway (EFC). Initiatives in various areas are also being implemented under a long term agreement.
- Actions from the Indigenous Rights Agenda have been completed with the Ka’apor people, are underway with the Guajajara people through an extension course in Environmental Management, Climate Change and Political Action, and actions have begun with the Awá people through a Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) to kick off activities.
In Minas Gerais:
Krenak
- Under implementation: Technical Cooperation Agreement to establish support lines aimed at encouraging the diversification of their productive
activities and access to and permanence in the university, with the creation of a specific scholarship program for students to remain in the university, called Kapan Krenak.
Pataxó and Pataxó Hã Hã Hãe
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Under implementation: reparation actions due to the dam collapse in Brumadinho.
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Two agreements were signed in 2022 to compensate the Indigenous people of the Katurãma Village and the group led by Dona Eline Pataxó. In 2023, another comprehensive compensation agreement was reached with the Pataxó and Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe peoples from the Tronco Gervasio and Antônia communities. In 2025, a new group covered by the Public Civil Actions entered into a full reparation agreement, which provides for the payment of individual and collective compensation, including through the donation of land for the permanent relocation of the Indigenous community. Negotiations with the remaining Indigenous groups are ongoing.
In Espírito Santo:
Tupiniquim and Guarani
- Under implementation: programs specified in the Basic Environmental Plan of the Estrada de Ferro Vitória-Minas (EFVM) railway.
In Canada, Vale, through Vale Base Metals, engages with the following Indigenous Peoples:
- Ontario: Sudbury Complex: Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nations; Wahnapitae First Nation; Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation; Whitefish River First Nation.
- Port Colborne: Metis Nation of Ontario (Region 1, 5, 9); Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
- Manitoba/Thompson: Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN), Tataskwayak Cree Nation (TCN), Manitoba Métis Federation.
- Newfoundland & Labrador: Labrador Innu (2 communities); Nunatsiavut Inuit (5 communities).
Information on relationship communities is constantly updated depending on new operations, projects or identification of communities close to Vale's activities.
92 Traditional Communities in Brazil and 1 in Chile
- 35 Quilombola communities in the states of Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro;
- 16 groups of Artisanal Fishermen in the states of Pará, Maranhão and Rio de Janeiro;
- 1 Gipsy community (Calon de Santa Bárbara), in Minas Gerais;
- 12 groups of coconut breakers in the state of Maranhão;
- 1 riverside community in Maranhão;
- 6 Geraizeiras communities in Minas Gerais;
- 21 Peoples and Communities of Ancestral Religious Tradition of African Origin (PCTRAMA), in Minas Gerais (our relationship with this community began after the dam collapse in Brumadinho).
Our Approach
Traditional Communities is guided by normative guidelines, such as our Global Human Rights Policy, aligned with key international references on the subject, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the International Council on Mining and Metals' Position Statement on Mining and Indigenous Peoples, International Labor Organization Convention No. 169, the UN Global Compact, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), as well as the laws and regulations of the countries where Vale operates.
These principles and international standards serve as a basis for normative guidelines established for Vale personnel who are responsible for engagement with Indigenous and Traditional Communities. They include a requirement to respect the unique characteristics and social and political organization of each community, and implement participatory processes that, to the extent possible, prioritize gender and generational equity and uphold the principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).
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We promote participatory processes that involve these communities in conducting impact assessments, proposing mitigating and offset measures, and developing business opportunities that support their rights.
Our key guidelines are as follows:
- Build relationships based on trust, respect, and promoting Indigenous rights to culture, heritage, and Indigenous ways of life;
- Recognize tenure rights to land and water, as well as the intangible value that these natural resources hold for Indigenous Peoples;
- Promote and document consultation and free, prior, and informed consent processes related to Vale's activities and community interests;
- Support ethnodevelopment among these populations;
- Effectively manage potential risks and impacts from Vale's activities on Indigenous Lands;
- Respect and foster governance mechanisms that accommodate the unique social organization of each community and, to the extent possible, ensure gender and generational representation to enable the effective participation of these populations;
- Inform Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities about Vale's channels for feedback, and respond to feedback received within the timeframes established in current regulations or agreements with communities.
Integration into internal processes
In addition to risk and impact management procedures, a range of programs, initiatives, and voluntary agreements are also established to contribute to the ethnodevelopment of these communities.
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Communities also have access to other available channels as indicated in the Contact Us section of our website.
Other significant areas include: training for employees and suppliers who interact with these communities in the areas of influence of projects and operations, through regular training and awareness-raising programs. For its own employees, the company provides an online course available at any time through its learning system. The company also has a commitment to community safety, which includes development of Integrated Community Safety Plans, aimed at preventing risks and document any incidents that need to be analyzed and addressed. These measures reinforce control barriers and help minimize impacts on stakeholders (read more about our community safety initiatives ).
Commitments
By 2030, Vale is committed to implementing the voluntary Indigenous Rights Agenda, which aims to support all Indigenous Peoples neighboring its operations in developing and executing their plans to pursue rights as outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This support translates into the development of Structuring Action documents, such as Consultation Protocols, Territorial and Environmental Management Plans (PGTA) and/or Life Plans, as well as training processes that strengthen the autonomy of 11 Indigenous Peoples in Brazil. As a preliminary step of engagement, a consultation process is carried out with the communities. Following their agreement, an extension course on Indigenous rights is delivered by indigenists, Indigenous lawyers, and leaders of the Indigenous movement with lived experience and expertise on the subject.
All these actions are carried out in partnership with the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), which leads the methodology of this process in a participatory manner, implementing the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
Learn more about the Voluntary Indigenous Rights Agenda.
In Brazil, Vale began implementing this commitment with the Kayapó
People by contributing to the development of their Consultation
Protocol and PGTA, which was autonomously led by the Indigenous association Floresta Protegida and completed in 2024.
In 2025, we completed support for two fundamental strategic instruments defined by the communities themselves — the Tupiniquim Consultation Protocol (Comboios Indigenous Land, Espírito Santo) and the Ka’apor Life Plan (Alto Turiaçu Indigenous Land, Maranhão). These instruments reaffirm the commitment to Indigenous autonomy in the defense of rights and to respect for Free, Prior and Informed Consent, as provided for in Convention No. 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO). They also have a legal basis, giving rise to collective obligations and commitments agreed upon by the Indigenous communities.
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We also initiated support for a training course for Indigenous peoples of the Guajajara communities in Maranhão, from the Rio Pindaré and Caru Indigenous Lands. This is a structuring action that was collectively developed to address the real demands and needs of the target audience and is aligned with Indigenous rights as set forth in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and with Brazil’s National Policy for Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous Lands (PNGATI).
Vale and FLACSO also initiated the engagement process with the Awá people, who are of recent contact (Awá, Caru and Alto Turiaçu Indigenous Lands, Maranhão), including the development of methodological guidelines by specialists. The proposal received positive feedback from the Protection Front of Brazil’s National Indigenous Peoples Foundation (FUNAI) as well as from Indigenous leaders. The consultation process with the Awá villages took place in February 2026, with the participation and monitoring of FUNAI, marking the beginning of the structuring action chosen by the community.
During the consultation process, the community defined themes related to the autonomy of their people and territories and requested that the actions begin in the second half of 2026. In total, five of the 11 Indigenous communities with which Vale has relationships near its operations in Brazil are engaged in this agenda, aligned with UNDRIP.
In 2025, the Company entered into a technical cooperation agreement with the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation (FUNAI), the institution responsible for protecting Indigenous rights in Brazil, and enabled the delivery of a 50-hour training course for 45 participants over a 15-day period on Indigenous rights in environmental licensing for new FUNAI technicians.This initiative involved the participation of specialists in environmental impacts in Indigenous territories, representatives of the national Indigenous movement, indigenists, and representatives of government authorities involved in the process, with pedagogical coordination by the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO).
The training consisted of an online module, which was recorded and made available to FUNAI, and an in-person module held in Brasília.
PIPOU - Indigenous University Permanence and Opportunities Program
The program provides financial support through monthly scholarships and the provision of a laptop, in addition to offering pedagogical support and academic writing workshops for the preparation and review of academic papers, including undergraduate dissertations, as well as tutoring in subjects in which students may experience difficulties. Pedagogical support is of fundamental importance, especially for students whose first language is not Portuguese.
The program also includes extracurricular activities, primarily through discussion circles and monthly debates with representative leaders of the Indigenous movement, former program participants, and other stakeholders who share experiences and perspectives on Indigenous struggles. These debates aim to foster reflections on rights based on the realities of Indigenous Peoples and to promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
Program activities are monitored by a steering committee composed of Indigenous and non-Indigenous specialists, Indigenous leaders, current and former scholarship recipients, as well as representatives from Vale and ISPN.
Now in its fifth year, PIPOU is open to students from Indigenous Peoples across Brazil. Participant selection considers each student’s life trajectory and commitment to their undergraduate studies, as well as to their people and territory. Scholarships are awarded for a one-year period and may be extended upon demonstration of satisfactory academic performance.
The program has successfully supported scholarship recipients through the completion of their undergraduate degrees, serving not only as a mechanism for university retention but also as support for the successful completion of this important stage for Indigenous students and their communities.
Currently, the program supports 119 scholarship recipients from 51 Indigenous Peoples, originating from 59 Indigenous Lands. Of the active scholarship holders, 72 (60.5%) are women, and 35 belong to Indigenous Peoples that have a relationship with Vale. Notably, this includes students from the Gavião people of the Mãe Maria Indigenous Land (13 students) and from the Tupiniquim and Guarani peoples of the Tupiniquim and Comboios Indigenous Lands (10 students). Scholarship recipients are enrolled in 24 higher education institutions across Brazil, with the largest number of students attending the Federal University of the South and Southeast of Pará (UNIFESSPA), the Maranhão State University (UEMA), and the University of Brasília (UnB). The most commonly chosen degree programs include Medicine, Law, Social Sciences, and Nursing.
Since the inception of PIPOU in 2021, 34 students have graduated from 16 different academic programs. Most graduates come from Indigenous Peoples with whom Vale has established relationships, including 18 Guajajara students from the Rio Pindaré Indigenous Land and seven Gavião students from the Mãe Maria Indigenous Land. Among graduates, 28 (82.4%) were women from eight different Indigenous Peoples.
Note: The data presented above were collected in March 2026. PIPOU data are dynamic, as graduated students are granted a period to formally report the completion of their degree programs. There may be cases of temporary suspension of scholarships for justified reasons, as well as possible terminations due to non-compliance with program criteria or student withdrawal from their academic program.
Actions to promote culture
Among the main initiatives supported by the company for the Xikrin do Cateté people is the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous memory and culture. In this context, the Xikrin do Cateté Memory Project was created as a partnership between the Botiê Xikrin Indigenous Institute (IBX) and Vale. Since 2019, the project has contributed to documenting Xikrin history through publications, videos, historical audio records, and an online platform—the “Xikrin do Cateté Online Archive”—accessible exclusively to the Xikrin people. One of the project’s key initiatives was the organization of workshops to develop the Illustrated Xikrin–Portuguese Dictionary. The dictionary project aims to produce four volumes with an average of 400 bilingual entries each, addressing the need for supplementary educational materials in Indigenous schools and encouraging research on written Xikrin language. In 2023, two volumes were completed—Mẽ i kaben kam ’ã mỳja karõ te amĩjakre Xikrin kôt nẽ Português kôt: the first focusing on birds, fish, and other animals, and the second on plants. The preparation of the dictionary involved the participation of the General Chief Karangre Xikrin, the Botiê Xikrin Indigenous Institute, the transmission of knowledge from elders to young Xikrin researchers, and professionals specializing in social sciences, linguistics, and graphic design.
The Xikrin Memory Project aligns with the rights established in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and with Vale’s engagement with Indigenous Peoples. These rights include revitalizing, using, developing, and transmitting histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems, and literatures to future generations; defining educational systems that provide education in Indigenous languages in accordance with cultural teaching and learning methods; and ensuring equity by acknowledging the participation of women, men, youth, adults, and elders in cultural preservation, education, and social mobilization. Furthermore, in accordance with the rights to self-determination and autonomy, it was agreed among the parties involved in the project that all materials produced may only be disclosed following prior consultation and consent by the Xikrin people, represented by the Botiê Xikrin Indigenous Institute (IBX).
Read more about issues involving Vale and Indigenous Peoples in Controversies.
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