United States

Securities and Exchange Commission

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

Report of Foreign Private Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16

of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month of

April 2021

Vale S.A.

Praia de Botafogo nº 186, 18º andar, Botafogo
22250-145 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

(Address of principal executive office)

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)

(Check One) Form 20-F x Form 40-F ¨

(Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1))

(Check One) Yes ¨ No x

(Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7))

(Check One) Yes ¨ No x

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)

(Check One) Yes ¨ No x

(If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b). 82- .)

Vale announces share buyback program Rio de Janeiro, April 1st, 2021 – Vale S.A. (Vale) informs that its Board of Directors approved today the proposal from the Executive Committee to establish a share buyback program for Vale’s common shares. The buyback program will be limited to a maximum of 270,000,000 common shares and their respective ADRs, representing up to 5.3% of the total number of outstanding shares, based on the shareholding position of February 28th, 2021. The program will be carried out over a period of up to 12 months. Our buyback program demonstrates the management confidence in Vale’s potential to consistently create and share value. Ruled by our discipline in capital allocation, we consider the repurchase of our shares one of the best investments available for the company. Our buyback program should not compete with our intention to consistently distribute dividends above the minimum level provided in our dividend policy, as it has been the case since we re-established our dividend program. The buyback program complies with Brazilian capital markets regulation and will be carried out on stock exchanges at market prices. Additional information can be found in CVM Instruction no. 480, Annex 30-XXXVI registered at CVM. Luciano Siani Pires Executive Officer of Investor Relations Ever since the Covid-19 outbreak began, our highest priority is the health and safety of our employees. Our IR team adopted work-from-home, and as we continue to face these new circumstances, we strongly recommend you prioritize e-mail and online engagement. For further information, please contact: Vale.RI@vale.com Ivan Fadel: ivan.fadel@vale.com Andre Werner: andre.werner@vale.com Mariana Rocha: mariana.rocha@vale.com Samir Bassil: samir.bassil@vale.com This press release may include statements that present Vale’s expectations about future events or results. All statements, when based upon expectations about the future, involve various risks and uncertainties. Vale cannot guarantee that such statements will prove correct. These risks and uncertainties include factors related to the following: (a) the countries where we operate, especially Brazil and Canada; (b) the global economy; (c) the capital markets; (d) the mining and metals prices and their dependence on global industrial production, which is cyclical by nature; and (e) global competition in the markets in which Vale operates. To obtain further information on factors that may lead to results different from those forecast by Vale, please consult the reports Vale files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) and in particular the factors discussed under “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in Vale’s annual report on Form 20-F.

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.