Brazilian mining giant Vale posted a net profit in the second quarter, shrugging off the effects of the coronavirus pandemic to pay shareholders a dividend for the first time in more than a year. Vale said renewed demand in China, whose industrial sector is bouncing back from coronavirus lockdowns, fueled strong exports, along with a weak Brazilian currency. The company reported a net profit of $995 million for the quarter, more than quadrupling its first-quarter profit of $239 million and reversing a loss of $133 million in the second quarter of 2019. Vale, one of the world's biggest iron ore miners, had not cut dividend checks for shareholders since the Brumadinho disaster in January 2019, when a dam collapsed at one of its mines in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The accident killed 270 people and sent millions of tons of toxic mining waste gushing into the surrounding area. The disaster was devastating for the company, which lost nearly $1.7 billion on the year in 2019. js/jhb/acb