Brazilian mining regulator, ANM, said this week Vale’s internal documents about the Brumadinho disaster are “inconsistent” with the company reports sent to the regulator before the incident took place.
ANM made the comments as it concluded a technical report about the disaster, which killed 270 people. The regulator said it could have avoided the disaster if it was “properly informed” about the dam issues.
The 194-page ANM technical report shows evidence of what might have caused the dam burst, along with “inconsistencies” on Vale reports to the regulator before the disaster, the mining agency said.
Those inconsistencies were apparent when Vale's audits and document filings at ANM are taken into account. ANM said miners are required to report the current situation of their dams every 15 days.
ANM noted that Vale’s report on January 30, five days after the tragedy, still said the Brumadinho dam did not present any anomaly. Later, in a February 15 report, Vale listed all dam issues based on a January 22 document, which dates three days before the dam burst.