Since its 2016 resource estimate, the company has drilled an additional 49 diamond drill holes totaling 3,154 metres.

In March 2018, the Chilean government unveiled big news.

Nearly 25 asset management firms and some pension funds are seeking compensation for losses derived from Vale's plummeting share price since the disaster.

Peru – a major copper producer – is also looking to edge in on the action.

Vale had announced it would pay $106 million to compensate workers affected by the deadly rupture of a tailing dam in January.

Locals claim the open-pit mine will damage crops and affect water supplies.

In a statement, Vale said the deal also involves individual compensation for moral and material damages.