Mark Travers has been confirmed as Vale’s executive director of base metals.
Travers has held the position on an interim basis since March 2019 after the resignation of CEO Fábio Schvartsman and three of the company’s senior executives.
The resignations were prompted by the collapse of a tailings dam in Brazil that killed 186 people.
“I am committed to leading the base metals’ business transformation to create a bright future on the strengths of our ongoing efforts to become a safe, reliable and sustainable operator,” Travers said in a statement from Vale.
“Despite these challenging and unprecedented times, we continue to deliver on the commitments we’ve made in safety, production and costs as well as with our new pact with society.”
According to Vale, the ‘new pact with society’ is part of a strategy to “becoming a development enabler in the areas where we operate and fostering a safer and more sustainable Brazilian mining industry."
Travers currently serves as president of PT Vale’s board of commissioners.
Since joining Vale in 2001, he has held progressively senior roles in legal, institutional relations, corporate strategy and sustainability, including serving as general counsel for Vale Canada Ltd.
Prior to joining Vale, Mark was a corporate lawyer at Smith Lyons law firm in Toronto.
In his role as executive director of base metals he oversees all corporate and operational activities of the global base metals business line at operations in Canada, Brazil, U.K., South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, New Caledonia, and Zambia.
In Sudbury, Vale’s operations include five mines, a mill, a smelter, a refinery, and nearly 4,000 employees.
Its products include nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group metals, gold and silver.
