Brazilian court clears BHP, Vale and Samarco of charges in 2015 dam disaster
A court in Belo Horizonte ruled that state prosecutors failed to prove that "individual actions" directly contributed to the collapse of the dam.
Brazilian miner Vale said on Saturday that it is conducting checks on a dam after a routine inspection identified surface cracks but noted that the structure’s stability conditions remain unchanged.
In a securities filing, the company said the issue concerns the Forquilha III dam at the Fabrica iron ore mine, located in the city of Ouro Preto, in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
According to Vale, the dam is at emergency level 3, the highest level among its dams, and is under permanent monitoring, with a downstream containment structure in place and the self-rescue zone evacuated, without any communities present.
“The company keeps competent authorities informed and executes an action plan for investigation and corrections, as necessary,” it said, adding that it remains committed to seeking the reduction of the emergency level.
In 2015, the collapse of a tailings dam at a Vale and BHP joint venture in the town of Mariana, also in Minas Gerais, caused a wave of toxic waste that killed 19 people, left hundreds homeless, flooded forests, and polluted a river.
On Wednesday, the company said it expects to reach a final agreement with authorities in October regarding reparations related to the incident.
In 2019, another dam accident involving Vale in the city of Brumadinho killed hundreds and caused severe environmental damage.
(By Marcela Ayres; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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