Vale ore-sand (Agera) tailings sand
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Vale set up a company, Agera, to sell sand made from iron-ore mining tailings. About 0.9 million tonnes were sold from 2021 to 2023, against an estimated Brazilian sand consumption of about 214 million tonnes in 2018.
2024 target: 2.1 million tonnes (InfoMoney, 2023).
Status As of the latest material reviewed (2023 reporting): Agera had sold about 900,000 tonnes since 2021 and aimed for 2.1 million tonnes in 2024.
What happened
Vale, the Brazilian mining company, created Agera to commercialise sand made from mining tailings. The sand is called ore-sand. InfoMoney reported the creation of the company in 2023. About 900,000 tonnes had been sold since 2021, and the 2024 target was 2.1 million tonnes.
A University of Geneva release of April 2022 described a study with the University of Queensland that examined Vale samples. It described mining waste as the world's largest waste stream, at 30 to 60 billion tonnes a year, and ore-sand as a way to make sand from it.
Brazilian sand consumption in 2018 was estimated at about 214 million tonnes, of which 76.7 million tonnes were declared. About 137 million tonnes, or 64%, were unregistered, worth about 13 billion reais a year, according to a Brazilian press report.
- 2021Vale begins selling sand made from tailings
- 2022April: University of Geneva release on the ore-sand study
- 2023InfoMoney reports the creation of Agera; about 900,000 tonnes sold since 2021
- 2024Sales target of 2.1 million tonnes
How it looked
Shown
- Sand made from mining tailings, sold through a dedicated companyVale, through the creation of Agera (as reported by InfoMoney) · InfoMoney
Recorded
- About 900,000 tonnes of ore-sand sold since 2021; 2024 target 2.1 million tonnes.
- Brazilian sand consumption in 2018 estimated at about 214 million tonnes; 76.7 million tonnes declared; about 137 million tonnes (64%) unregistered, worth about 13 billion reais a year.
- The University of Geneva described mining waste as the largest waste stream, at 30 to 60 billion tonnes a year.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- vale (2023): Created Agera to sell sand made from mining tailings. · InfoMoney
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not state the share of Vale's annual tailings that ore-sand represents, or its share of Brazilian sand consumption.
- None on record Where the ore-sand is produced and which tailings it comes from are not stated in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable: no harm to nature is recorded in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
No party is recorded as bearing a cost in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Press and investigations
Researchers
- Une solution au plus grand flux de déchets du monde: fabriquer du sableUniversité de Genève · 2022-04
Connected cases
- Biomas restoration initiative Brazil · 2022
- Vale (Company) — here: Mining company; owner of Agera; there: Founder; published the market notice
- Brazil's 2015 mining code draft was created on Vale and BHP's law firm's computer Brazil · 2015
- Vale (Company) — here: Mining company; owner of Agera; there: Company served by the law firm that held the draft
- Brazilian court orders Vale and Cemig to repair nearly dry Rio Doce reach Brazil · 2015
- Vale (Company) — here: Mining company; owner of Agera; there: Company the court ordered to repair the damage
- Marfrig co-founded Biomas, a Brazilian forest-restoration company Brazil · 2022
- Vale (Company) — here: Mining company; owner of Agera; there: Founding partner of Biomas
- Renova Foundation (Mariana dam, Brazil) Brazil · 2015–2024
- Vale (Company) — here: Mining company; owner of Agera; there: Parent company of Samarco; secondary funder of Renova at 50%
- Samarco Fundão dam collapse (Mariana): the settlement and the court cases Brazil · 2015–2026
- Vale (Company) — here: Mining company; owner of Agera; there: 50% owner; acquitted
- Simandou iron ore project, Guinea Guinea · 2008–2026
- Vale (Company) — here: Mining company; owner of Agera; there: Bought 51% of BSGR's Simandou holding for USD 2.5 billion
- Vale and Rio Tinto's Riversdale move households to make way for Tete coal mines Mozambique · 2009–2013
- Vale (Company) — here: Mining company; owner of Agera; there: Operator that relocated 1,365 households
- Vale Brumadinho dam collapse Brazil · 2019–2027
- Vale (Company) — here: Mining company; owner of Agera; there: Dam owner and operator