A federal judge in Brazil has mandated mining giants BHP, Vale, and their joint venture Samarco to pay 47.6 billion reais ($9.67 billion) in damages following a fatal dam rupture in 2015.
The collapse of the Fundão dam led to a massive mudslide that claimed 19 lives and heavily contaminated the Rio Doce river, affecting its flow to the Atlantic Ocean.
The judgment, issued by Judge Vinicius Cobucci, holds the companies responsible for “moral damages,” encompassing emotional suffering endured by those impacted by the tragedy.
The awarded amount, subject to inflation adjustments since 2015, will be allocated to a state fund for initiatives in the affected region.
This ruling stems from a civil action brought by state and federal prosecutors.
While Vale stated that it hadn’t received official notification of the ruling, it highlighted that the Renova Foundation, utilized by the companies for compensation disbursements, has already paid out 34.7 billion reais as of December last year. BHP and Samarco have yet to comment on the matter.
The decision permits the companies to appeal. Samarco, jointly owned by BHP and Vale, witnessed the dam disaster in Minas Gerais state, displacing 700 individuals and inflicting extensive environmental harm, marked as one of Brazil’s worst environmental catastrophes.
A 2016 report identified design flaws as the cause of the dam’s collapse but refrained from assigning blame.
It pointed to alterations in the dam’s design, resulting in inadequate water drainage and subsequent liquefaction of the dam’s walls.
Additionally, a minor earthquake on the day of the disaster might have hastened the failure.
The incident prompted a reevaluation of safety protocols within the mining sector. BHP and Vale face a class action lawsuit in the UK with over 700,000 claimants.
In a separate incident in January 2019, a Vale-owned tailings dam collapse in the same state led to 270 fatalities.
Source-BBC
