Vale is getting ready for its annual shutdown.
Manager of Corporate Affairs and Organizational Development for Vale, Ryan Land explains what it is:
"It is a planned annual period where in we seize production in order to carry out maintenance and projects that might otherwise interrupt production or increase risk. We complete work that requires outages to multiple areas at the same times, also we complete projects that improve future production or safety".
Land says the mines will begin to ramp down starting tomorrow followed by the mill, refinery, and smelter by August 10th. All plants will be back up and running August 31st.
Many Vale employees have the month off.
