Vale Congratulates Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Arthur McDonald and its 'neighbor' SNOLAB

TORONTO, Oct. 7, 2015 /CNW/ - It is with great enthusiasm that Vale congratulates Dr. Arthur McDonald on being named the 2015 Nobel Prize winner for Physics in an announcement yesterday by the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.

Dr. McDonald shares the prize with co-recipient and Japanese researcher Takaaki Kajita. The pair were recognized for their work in separate experiments that showed neutrinos change 'flavours' while travelling from the sun to earth – proving they have mass.

In Dr. McDonald's case, the experiments were conducted more than two kilometres underground at SNOLAB (Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Lab), which is nestled in the depths of Vale's century-old and still operating Creighton mine, in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

When the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory was first conceived it was miners at Creighton who excavated the original cavern – the largest and deepest underground excavation of its kind at the time.

Today, with the transition to SNOLAB, the area is home to 5,000 square metres of state-of-the-art research space with world-renowned researchers and miners working side-by-side on a daily basis – one group mining nickel and the other mining neutrinos and knowledge.

SNOLAB is the deepest and cleanest laboratory in the world dedicated to this type of work. Its underground setting provides an opportunity to conduct experiments in an environment with the lowest possible interference from environmental and solar radioactivity.

"Vale has never been more proud of its association with SNOLAB than we are today with this well-deserved recognition for Dr. McDonald and the entire SNOLAB team. When we embarked on a partnership with SNOLAB there was no expectation of anything in return other than an opportunity to help the advance of scientific knowledge. That we have been witness to such an important breakthrough is an absolute honour and a testament to the capabilities and character of Dr. McDonald and his SNOLAB colleagues," said Murilo Ferreira, CEO of Vale SA.

SOURCE Vale Limited

Danica Pagnutti, Corporate Affairs Specialist, Vale, Ontario Operations, 705-682-7165