Cases / Mining · Mozambique · 2009–2013
Vale and Rio Tinto's Riversdale move households to make way for Tete coal mines
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Vale moved 1,365 households in Tete province in 2009 and 2010, and Riversdale moved 84, according to Human Rights Watch. At Cateme at least 83 families lost usable fields, and a promised second hectare had not been provided by 2013.
What?
Vale and Riversdale, which Rio Tinto bought in 2011, relocated households to make way for coal mining in Tete province. Human Rights Watch
Where?
Tete province, Mozambique (Cateme and Mwaladzi areas) Human Rights Watch
When?
Relocations 2009 to 2010; rail blockade January 2012; report 2013 Human Rights Watch
Who?
Gained
- Vale — Coal mining proceeded after relocating 1,365 households Human Rights Watch
- Rio Tinto (through Riversdale) — Riversdale's relocation of 84 households proceeded Human Rights Watch
Lost
None on recordHarmed
- Households relocated for the Vale and Riversdale mines — Relocated; at least 83 families at Cateme lost usable land, and the promised second hectare was not given by 2013 Human Rights Watch
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Households were relocated for mine development. The sources do not describe the compensation terms. Human Rights Watch
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Vale resettled 1,365 households in Tete province in 2009 and 2010; Riversdale, which Rio Tinto bought in 2011, moved 84 households (Human Rights Watch, 23 May 2013).
At Cateme at least 83 families had fields covered in stone or taken back, and a promised second hectare had still not been given by 2013.
In January 2012 about 500 people blocked the coal railway.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not give the compensation paid to the households or the terms of the relocation.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the second hectare was given after 2013.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers
Communities and civil society
- Mozambique: mining resettlements disrupt food, waterHuman Rights Watch · 2013-05-23
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Simandou iron ore project, Guinea Guinea · 2008–2026
- Biomas restoration initiative Brazil · 2022
- Vale (Company) — here: Operator that relocated 1,365 households; there: Founder; published the market notice
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- Rio Tinto (Company) — here: Owner of Riversdale from 2011; there: Shareholder in CBG
- Brazil's 2015 mining code draft was created on Vale and BHP's law firm's computer Brazil · 2015
- Vale (Company) — here: Operator that relocated 1,365 households; there: Company served by the law firm that held the draft
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- Vale (Company) — here: Operator that relocated 1,365 households; there: Company the court ordered to repair the damage
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- Rio Tinto (Company) — here: Owner of Riversdale from 2011; there: Project developer
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- Rio Tinto Juukan Gorge destruction Australia · 2020
- Rio Tinto (Company) — here: Owner of Riversdale from 2011; there: Mining company that carried out the blasting
- Rio Tinto's QMM ilmenite mine: net positive impact pledge and biodiversity offset (Madagascar) Madagascar · 2004–2017
- Rio Tinto (Company) — here: Owner of Riversdale from 2011; there: Mining company; made and then dropped the net positive commitment
- Samarco Fundão dam collapse (Mariana): the settlement and the court cases Brazil · 2015–2026
- Vale (Company) — here: Operator that relocated 1,365 households; there: 50% owner; acquitted
- Vale Brumadinho dam collapse Brazil · 2019–2027
- Vale (Company) — here: Operator that relocated 1,365 households; there: Dam owner and operator
- Vale ore-sand (Agera) tailings sand Brazil · 2021–2024
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