Mining giants sign $30 billion in compensation for the 2015 dam collapse in Brazil

Mining giants BHP and Vale have signed an agreement with the Brazilian government to pay nearly $30 billion in compensation for the 2015 Mariana dam collapse that caused the country’s worst environmental disaster.

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva attended the agreement signing ceremony on Friday.

The dam failure released toxic waste and sludge, flooding nearby towns, rivers and forests.

It killed 19 people, left hundreds more homeless and poisoned the river.

“I hope the mining companies have learned their lesson; it will cost them less to prevent a disaster,” President Lula said.

The dam is owned by Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP.

Since the disaster, companies have set up a fund to compensate people and have carried out billions of dollars worth of repairs. This included building a new town to replace the one that was destroyed.

However, many people in the community still believe that they have not received justice or enough to rebuild their lives after 9 years.

As for these legal proceedings in Brazil alone, more than 620,000 people took BHP to court in the UK, where BHP was headquartered at the time, in a trial that began earlier this week.

They are seeking about $47 billion in compensation in the civil trial. The first stage will determine whether BHP – as the parent company – is liable. Some 70,000 complainants are also taking Vale to court in the Netherlands.

Both companies denied liability and said the legal action abroad was “unnecessary” and duplicated legal proceedings in Brazil.

Some members of the community in the Mariana told the BBC they had joined the UK’s legal action after being frustrated that Brazil’s proceedings were taking so long, but doubted that the settlement of Brazil could be achieved soon after the UK case opens due to more international pressure.

In 2016, both companies agreed to pay about $3.5 billion in compensation at current levels, but negotiations were reopened in 2021 as the Brazilian justice system made slow progress in resolving the issue. dispute.

Friday’s agreement covers their past and future obligations to support people, communities and ecosystems affected by disasters.

The companies agreed to pay 100 billion reais ($17.5 billion) to local authorities over 20 years and 32 billion reais to compensate and resettle victims as well as repair harm caused to environment.

The remaining 38 billion reais is the amount the companies said they paid in compensation.