Prosecutors freeze Vale assets to pay back evacuated locals

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Prosecutors in Brazil have frozen millions of pounds of Vale's assets to ensure it compensates residents forced to flee a dam on the verge of collapse.

Authorities froze 2.95bn Brazilian reais (£576m) after families were evacuated from the path of a mining waste dam in Barao de Cocais, company filings show.

Read more: Another Vale dam on the brink of collapse, says auditor

“The company has not yet been formally notified of the decision and will take appropriate action within the legal deadline,” Vale said.

It is the latest blow against the miner since one of its dams killed more than 300 people when a it burst in the town of Brumadinho earlier this year.

Today the miner said its iron ore output rose 8.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2018, ahead of the tragedy in January.

With production hitting 385m tonnes, Vale only just fell short of its 390m tonne expectations.

However, the firm warned that the fallout from the disaster, which has forced it to close several mines, will hit production by 93m tonnes.

Operations were halted at 13 other waste dams this week as Vale was hit with a court order.

Read more: London miners push FTSE 100 higher as Vale shuts mine

It will mean that its important Brucutu mine will stay offline for longer than expected, Vale said.

On Thursday the firm was given permission to restart the mine after it stopped production in February.

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