SAO PAULO, March 8 (Reuters) - Brazilian miner Vale says

it will retain Eduardo Bartolomeo as CEO through 2024, a source

familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Bartolomeo, whose term was due to end May 26, first assumed

the role as Vale's CEO on an interim basis in 2019, leaving his

position as the company's base metals director in Canada after

the departure of then CEO Fabio Schvartsman, who headed the

company when the Brumadinho dam disaster occurred.

He was later appointed to the post after taking part in

a process with other company executives.

The move to retain Bartolomeo comes amid government

criticism of Vale's management which had signaled that it would

seek to influence the choice of a new CEO.

In January, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da

Silva tried to pressure the firm into making his former Finance

Minister Guido Mantega its CEO.

Although Vale was privatized over 25 years ago, the

government has continued to exert pressure at times through

public-sector pension funds with influence on the miner's board

of directors.

After the Brumadinho disaster in January 2019, where one

of Vale's dams collapsed and left 270 dead and ravaged nearby

forests, rivers and communities, Bartolomeo led the

implementation of processes to improve safety at the company's

facilities, such as a plan for decommissioning dams at higher

risk.