OREANDA-NEWS. At the end of October, Vale in Indonesia received an award from the country's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources for being the mining company with the best environmental management. The certificate was awarded to Asia-Pacific Director of Operations for Base Metals, Nico Kanter, by the ministry's Deputy Minister, Susilo Siswoutomo.

According to Kanter, the award represents the Indonesian government's recognition of the joint effort made by Vale's board, employees and shareholders. "We would like to thank the government for this award which will encourage us to maintain and improve our recent achievements, especially in the environmental management of our mining operations," declared our CEO.

In Indonesia we operate an open-pit nickel mine and a processing plant in Sorowako. Most of the nickel we produce is sent to our refineries in Japan. Our operations in the country have been guided by environmental responsibility. In addition, our initiative to recuperate nickel producing areas has received awards for four consecutive years from the local government. The program involves the revegetation of the areas surrounding the mines and recuperation of the soil, as well as the reintroduction of native species and other actions.