OREANDA-NEWS. July 29, 2011. Vale S.A. (Vale) informs that its Executive Board has approved and will submit to the Board of Directors the proposal for payment of an additional dividend to shareholders amounting to USD  3 billion, equivalent to USD  0.574902169 per outstanding common or preferred share as of June 30, 2011 (5,218,279,144).

The proposal will be submitted for approval to the Board of Directors in the meeting scheduled for August 11, 2011 and, if approved, the payment will be made on August 26, 2011. The amount in Brazilian Reais will be calculated using the Brazilian Real/US dollar exchange rate (Ptax-Option 5) published by the Central Bank of Brazil on August 10, 2011. All investors who hold Vale shares at the record dates will have the right to the dividend payment. The record date for the owners of shares traded on the BM&FBovespa is August 11, 2011. The record date for the holders of ADRs traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Euronext Paris is August 16, 2011 Eastern Standard Time and for the holders of HDRs traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) is at the close of business in Hong Kong on August 16, 2011.

Vale shares will start trading ex-dividend on BM&F Bovespa, NYSE and Euronext Paris as of August 12, 2011 and on HKEx as of August 15, 2011.

The strategic rationale

The approval of this proposal by our Board of Directors along with other decisions taken so far will imply in a record return of cash to shareholders in 2011, including dividend payment and a share buyback, which demonstrates Vale’s commitment to the optimization of capital allocation.

Vale’s strong cash generation and its excellent performance perspectives allow the financing of growth opportunities and the return of capital to shareholders while maintaining a healthy balance sheet, contributing to the creation of shareholder value.