Vale Webcast Newsletter

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to share with you the highlights of Vale's Press Conference about the creation of Vale Florestar S.A., one of the largest reforestation funds in Brazil.

Main highlights of Vale’s Webcast:  http://www.vale.com/saladeimprensa/en/releases/release.asp?id=19769

The main highlights of the announcement were:

• Vale, BNDES and the employee pension funds of Caixa Economica Federal (FUNCEF) and Petrobras (PETROS) will form one of the largest reforestation funds in Brazil
• The fund will be valued at BRL 605 million, to be fully paid by 2014
• Vale Florestar will operate in an area measuring approximately 450 thousand ha
• In the last three years, 24.5 million trees have been planted on 41 leased farms  
• Required investments will total BRL 605 MM until 2014, generating 4000 jobs during peak production times
• Vale has invested approximately BRL 230 million in the project – over a third more than what had been originally planned

A press conference was held today in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and included the participation of Roger Agnelli, Vale CEO; Onito Barbosa, Global Equity director; Vania Somavilla, Vale's Environment and Sustainability director; Wagner Pinheiro, PETROS president; Guilherme Lacerda, FUNCEF president; Eduardo Rath Finger, BNDES's Environment director. Below are the main issues that were addressed in the press conference.

Vale, BNDES and the employee pension funds of Caixa Economica Federal (FUNCEF) and Petrobras (PETROS) will form one of the largest reforestation funds in Brazil. The fund will be valued at BRL 605 million, to be fully paid by 2014. The financial structure will be implemented by Global Equity Administradora de Recursos, who will also be responsible for identifying and evaluating new investment opportunities.

At the press conference held today at Vale headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Vale CEO Roger Agnelli said that the company's social and environmental projects are a source of great pride. "I know of no other company in the world that does what we're doing. The work we have carried out on the issue of water and with a view to socially develop the areas where we conduct our operations... this is the kind of philosophy that is deeply rooted in the conscience of every single employee." Mr. Agnelli gave more details about the project, saying that the company, besides supplying the local population with seedlings and technical assistance, has also paid them a monthly salary or fee to lease the land, helping several families to become self-sufficient. In the future, the timber will be collected for industrial purposes, such as furniture manufacturing or coal or cellulose production.

More than an environmental project, the creation of Vale Florestar S.A. is a real social project. "If we don't have an alternative employment plan, or a plan that will secure that region's livelihood and development, it is useless to dream of preserving anything, because nothing will be preserved," warns Mr. Agnelli. "The best strategy we can use is to seek out economic activities that will create opportunity, instead of clearing, burning and making coal. We can plant and cultivate the land instead, taking care of our preserved areas while also taking care of the areas that may generate economic activity. This is good retirement business, something to leave for our children: planting timber, trees. The profitability of this activity is good, its deficit is very long term, especially for hardwood species from the Atlantic Forest," concludes Agnelli.

Recognizing that this will be one of the largest sustainability funds ever created in the country, Onito Barbosa, Global Equity's managing partner, said that this project is truly a reference: "There have been very few times we have seen a project whose beginning, middle and end structure was so well coordinated," adding that that the fund will be divided as follows: 40% will belong to Vale and 20% to each of the three shareholders.

Wagner Pinheiro, PETROS president, forecasts very positive returns for the project. "It is very likely that this project will have returns of over 10% a year. These are numbers we are still trying to figure out and have as a goal."

To watch the webcast of this press conference and previous events please go to www.vale.com.

About Vale

Vale is the world's second largest diversified mining company in market capitalization. Present in more than 30 countries, Vale is the world's largest producer of iron ore and pellets, key raw materials for the steel industry, and one of the largest  producers of nickel, which is used to produce stainless steel, batteries, special alloys, chemicals and other products.  The company also produces copper, manganese, ferroalloys, bauxite, alumina, aluminum and coal, among other raw materials important to the global industrial sector and present in people's daily lives. For more information, please access www.vale.com/pressoffice

SOURCE Vale