- Brazilian dam failure, 19 dead
- BHP, Vale ordered to pay
- Environmental, legal repercussions continue
Mining behemoths BHP, Vale, and their Samarco iron ore joint venture were ordered by a federal magistrate in Brazil to pay 47.6 billion reais (£9.67 billion) in damages for a fatal dam breach that occurred in 2015.
A massive mudslide resulted from the Fundão dam failure in the southeast of the country, claiming the lives of nineteen people.
Moreover, the Rio Doce River was significantly contaminated, thereby jeopardizing its course toward its estuary in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was immediately unclear what amount each company was obligated to pay.
According to Judge Vinicius Cobucci, the companies were responsible for “moral damages,” or intangible injury such as emotional distress endured by those impacted by the incident.
He further stated that the funds, inflation-adjusted from 2015, will be deposited into a state fund and allocated towards initiatives and projects in the region affected by the dam failure.
The court rendered its decision in response to a civil action filed by state and federal public prosecutors.
Additionally, the organization disclosed that the Renova Foundation, the mechanism through which the companies have disbursed compensation payments since December of last year, has accumulated 34.7 billion reais to date.
The companies have the opportunity to appeal the ruling.
Vale, a Brazilian company, and the Australian mining conglomerate BHP jointly established Samarco as a 50/50 venture.
Many regard the catastrophe in the state of Minas Gerais, which displaced 700 people, as one of the worst environmental disasters in the country.
Upon the dam rupture, an inundation of viscous, noxious sludge ensued, completely inundating the community of Bento Rodrigues.
Widespread Impact, Dam Collapse Inquiry
Six hundred fifty kilometers away, it contaminated the Atlantic Ocean and Rio Doce. This caused wildlife extinction and contaminated the water supply of hundreds of thousands of people.
A report published in 2016 determined that design defects were responsible for the dam’s collapse.
Samarco’s joint owners, BHP and Vale, committed the technical report but failed to attribute blame for the catastrophe.
“Tailings” dams, which store mining byproducts, frequently feature walls composed of composite material resembling clay sediment and sand particles.
According to the report, a modification to the design of the Fundão dam from 2011 to 2012 resulted in reduced water drainage efficiency, which ultimately precipitated the dam’s failure on November 5, 2015.
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Sand in dam walls became soaked and liquid, causing “liquefaction”.
The report added that a minor earthquake that occurred on the day the dam ruptured may have “accelerated” the failure.
The calamity instigated a thorough examination of safety protocols within the mining sector.
In the United Kingdom, BHP and Vale are also defendants in a class action litigation with over 700,000 plaintiffs.
Vale’s second sediment dam collapsed near Brumadinho in January 2019, killing 270 people.
