Brazil: Judge orders mining companies BHP and Vale to pay USD 9.7 billion in damages over 2015 Fundão dam collapse
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"BHP and Vale ordered to pay $15bn in damages for 2015 Brazil dam collapse," 25 Jan 2024
A Brazilian judge has ruled that mining companies Vale and BHP and their joint venture Samarco must pay 47.6bn reais (AU$14.7 bn [USD 9.7 billion] in damages for a 2015 tailings dam burst...
Vale, a Brazilian company, and BHP, an Australian listed company, said in separate statements they were not informed by the judiciary about the decision.
Samarco declined to comment.
The dam collapse in the south-eastern city of Mariana caused a giant mudslide that killed 19 people and severely polluted the Rio Doce River, compromising the waterway to its outlet in the Atlantic Ocean.
The judge wrote in the legal document that the money would be put in a state fund and used for projects and initiatives area affected by the dam collapse.
The companies can appeal the decision.