Brazil's state secretary for environment and sustainable development cancelled the license for Vale's Laranjeiras dam, which is used by its Brucutu mine. Courtesy of Vale

Vale’s licenses for its Laranjeiras dam and Jangada mine were cancelled by Brazil’s state secretary for environment and sustainable development on Wednesday.

The Laranjeiras dam is used by Vale’s Brucutu mine. On Monday the company reported operations had been halted at the mine after a Brazilian court ordered Vale to stop using eight of its tailings dams, including Laranjeiras.

The work stoppage at Brucutu, the company’s largest property in Minas Gerais, will reduce Vale’s output by 30 million tonnes of iron ore per year. As a result, the company declared force majeure on a number of its iron ore and pellet sales contracts.

The license for its Jangada mine was also revoked, because the state secretary said it was “unified” with the license for Córrego de Feijão, the site of the Jan. 25 tailings dam collapse.

Vale, which in a release contested that the licenses were connected, said work at Jaganda has not been operating since Córrego de Feijão was halted.