Vale chief executive Fabio Schvartsman flies over Brumadinho after the dam breach
BY AMY BLOM
BRAZILIAN miner Vale is facing increasing criticism as the death toll continues to rise from the Brumadinho dam failure.
At least 99 people had been confirmed dead six days after a tailings dam burst at the Feijão mine in Brumadinho on 25 January, sending a torrent of sludge into the miner’s administrative area and the surrounding Vila Ferteco community.
The toll was expected to continue rising, with more than 250 people still unaccounted for, and little hope they would be found alive, according to local officials.
In the days after the dam collapse, Brazilian authorities arrested five people and issued seven search warrants, on suspicion of murder, falsification of documents and environmental crimes.
Among those arrested were three Vale employees, including two senior managers, and two other engineers working on behalf of the company.
Bloomberg quoted Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourão as saying there must be punishment for those responsible for the disaster.
“If there was any malpractice, recklessness or negligence on the part of someone inside the company, this person has to answer criminally,” Mr Mourão said.
The Brazilian Government has declared a state of public calamity, launched the Ministerial Disaster Response Council, and issued $R250 million in fines to Vale.
It has also declared Vale a repeat offender and said it could suffer further civil, administrative and criminal sanctions once investigations were complete.
On 26 January, Vale issued a statement that it was investigating the causes of the dam collapse, but that the dam had passed stability tests in June and September 2018.
It also stated that safety at the site had been in accordance with international best practice.
As a result of the disaster, Vale announced new measures to provide financial and psychological support to the families of affected people, and to mitigate the impacts of the failure.
Vale finance and investor relations executive director Luciano Siani Pires said this included containment measures, a commitment to continue paying mining royalties to the City of Brumadinho and a donation of R$100,000 (about $37,123) to the families of each missing person or confirmed fatality, regardless of whether they were a Vale employee.
“This has nothing to do with indemnification, which needs to be sorted out together with the authorities,” Mr Siani Pires said.
Vale had also suspended payouts to shareholders and executive bonuses.
Shares in Vale went into freefall following the disaster, dropping 24.52 per cent as at 29 January.
The Brumadinho dam failure was the second deadly mining disaster involving Vale in less than four years.
On 5 November 2015, a tailings dam collapsed at a nearby mine run by Samarco Mineiracao, a joint venture between Vale and BHP, killing 19 people and causing catastrophic environmental damage to the Rio Doce river basin.
