In this edition, we cover tailings management, asking what has changed in the five years since the Brumadinho tailings dam collapsed in Brazil killing 272 people. The industry has made great strides in tailings management and, yes, it could probably do more.

On October 25, 2024, the Federal Government of Brazil, the Brazilian States of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo, and other public authorities reached an agreement with Samarco Mineração S.A., BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda. and Vale S.A. to settle obligations related to Samarco’s Fundão tailings dam failure on November 5, 2015. The mining companies had been engaged in negotiations since early 2021 to reach a settlement.

“The Samarco Fundão dam failure in 2015 was a terrible tragedy,” said Mike Henry, CEO, BHP. “It should never have happened and must never be forgotten.”

BHP and Vale owned the Samarco iron ore mining company, as a “non-operated joint venture.” The $31.7 billion settlement adds programs and expands existing programs for the people who simply refer to it as the Mariana disaster. The Fundão dam failure didn’t claim nearly as many lives as Brumadinho, but it stained the environment as an orange plume polluted the Doce River all the way from the mine to the Atlantic Ocean, and it ravaged the communities of Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu de Baixo.

The settlement designates funding for the health system, economic recovery, improved infrastructure and extensive compensation and income support measures, including for farmers, fishermen, indigenous people and traditional communities.

It provides reparations for the impacts of the dam failure and builds on the existing remediation and compensation work already performed by the Renova Foundation in Brazil since 2016, which totaled $7.9 billion. It pays an addition $18 billion in installments over the next 20 years along with additional performance obligations of $5.8 billion.

Individuals with unresolved claims in connection with water damage will be entitled to R$13,018 ($2,295) per person. Eligible fishermen and small farmers in the affected regions will be entitled to R$95,000 ($16,746) per person. Small business owners that agree to opt-in could receive R$35,000 ($6,169) per person.

The Brumadinho dam failure has not been settled, but the people and communities affected by the Mariana disaster will finally see reparations after nine years of litigation. The failure of TSFs and the lengthy settlement timelines are some of the reasons why the mining business can’t shake those negative connotations.

Steve Fiscor, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, E&MJ