...As per our previous responses dated May 6, 2021 and April 14, 2021, in late March 2021 the northwest region of Maranhão State, Brazil received exceptionally heavy rain (more than 450 mm in 48 hours), described as a 1-in-10,000- years rain event. Widespread flooding in the region washed out many roads and increased turbidity in waterways and local sources of drinking water. While the operational structures at our Aurizona Mine were not affected, a small freshwater pond on our site overflowed. Unfortunately, the overflow continues to be incorrectly reported by some independent media outlets as a “tailings dam” failure.

There was no tailings dam failure. These facts have been confirmed by regulators as published on the Brazil National Mining Agency’s website. Mine site personnel reacted swiftly to support neighbouring communities, helping to restore road access and delivering both fresh water and bottled drinking water to supplement community supplies. We also offered our assistance to improve Aurizona Village’s water treatment plant...

...We worked with community leaders and local government to review the community’s water distribution network and in April, as a sustainable community investment project, announced our decision to upgrade the water distribution pipelines and install a new water treatment plant to replace the community’s current facility. Water improvement projects involved a number of initiatives...

...This is a true sustainable community investment project, providing new skills and employment opportunities and also improved water access and water quality to community members. We communicated regularly with community members and local government throughout this process to keep them informed about our efforts to improve the community’s access to water, and continue to work closely with community leaders, government agencies and regulators to ensure our measures are aligned with the community’s long-term needs...