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Category: Mining Industry / Death / Law, Crime and Justice / International Law / Disasters and Accidents

Brazil files $58 billion lawsuit against Vale, BHP for dam spill

Wednesday, 4 May 2016 06:07:27

A car balances on a building in Bento Rodigues district after the dam burst disaster. (Reuters: Ricardo Moraes, file)

Federal prosecutors in Brazil have filed a 155 billion real ($58.2 billion) civil lawsuit against iron miner Samarco, and its owners Vale SA and BHP Billiton, for a collapsed tailings dam that killed 19 people and polluted a major river.

The 359-page lawsuit, which is also against the two states impacted by the spill and the federal government, is the result of a six-month investigation led by a task force set up after the disaster, prosecutors said in a statement.

Brazilian owned company Vale SA said it had not been notified of the suit and was therefore unable to comment.

Australia's BHP Billiton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The total damages, prosecutors said, were calculated based upon the cost of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the United States.

Samarco's 'continual negligence'


Four Corners reveals evidence of problems at the mine dating back almost a decade.

BP's total pre-tax charge for that spill reached $US53.8 billion ($71.89 billion).

Prosecutors demanded an initial payment of 7.7 billion reals ($2.89 billion).

The civil action is separate from the lawsuit that Samarco, Vale and BHP settled with Brazil's government in March in which the companies would pay an estimated 20 billion reals ($7.51 billion) for damage caused by the November spill — federal and state prosecutors did not form part of that settlement.

The settlement itself was criticised by prosecutors, who said it was insufficient and lacked the legal mechanisms to ensure the companies would fulfil their obligations, making it little more than a "letter of intent".

The roles of the state and federal government were also questioned, with prosecutors accusing the state of Minas Gerais, where the spill occurred, as being guilty of negligence in the permitting and monitoring of the dam.

Reuters

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