2.2.0.7 false Long-term incentive compensation plan 0216 - Disclosure - Long-term incentive compensation plan true false false false 1 USD false false USD Standard http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 0 USDEPS Divide http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance shares xbrli 0 $ 2 Long-term incentive compensation plan [Abstract] 0 us-gaap_ShareBasedCompensationAbstract us-gaap true na duration No definition available. false false false false false true false false false false false false 1 false false false false 0 0 false false false xbrli:stringItemType string No definition available. false 3 Long-term incentive compensation plan 1 us-gaap_DisclosureOfCompensationRelatedCostsShareBasedPaymentsTextBlock us-gaap true na duration No definition available. false false false false false false false false false false false verboselabel false 1 false false false false 0 0   <div style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><b>16 Long-term incentive compensation plan</b> </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt; margin-left: 2%">Under the terms of the long-term incentive compensation plan, the participants, restricted to certain executives, may elect to allocate part of their annual bonus to the plan. The allocation is applied to purchase preferred shares of Vale, through a predefined financial institution, at market conditions and with no benefit provided by Vale. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt; margin-left: 2%">The shares purchased by each executive are unrestricted and may, at the participant’s discretion, be sold at any time. However, the shares must be held for a three-year period and the executive must be continually employed by Vale during that period. The participant then becomes entitled to receive from Vale a cash payment equivalent to the total amount of shares held, based on the market rates. The total shares linked to the plan at June 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009, is 2,896,038 and 1,809,117, respectively. </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt; margin-left: 2%">Additionally, as a long-term incentive certain eligible executives have the opportunity to receive at the end of the triennial cycle a certain number of shares at market rates, based on an evaluation of their career and performance factors measured as an indicator of total return to stockholders. </div>   </div>  <div style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"> <div align="right" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"> </div> <div align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt; margin-left: 2%">We account for the compensation cost provided to our executives under this long-term incentive compensation plan, following the requirements Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation. Liabilities are measured at each reporting date at fair value, based on market rates. Compensation costs incurred are recognized, over the defined three-year vesting period. At June 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009, we recognized a liability of US$75 and US$72, respectively, through the Statement of Income. </div> </div>  <!-- Begin Block Tagged Note false false false us-types:textBlockItemType textblock Disclosure of compensation-related costs for share-based compensation which may include disclosure of policies, compensation plan details, allocation of stock compensation, incentive distributions, share-based arrangements to obtain goods and services, deferred compensation arrangements, employee stock ownership plan details and employee stock purchase plan details. Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 123R -Paragraph 64, 65, A240 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher AICPA -Name Statement of Position (SOP) -Number 93-6 -Paragraph 53 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) -Number Topic 14 false 1 2 false UnKnown UnKnown UnKnown false true