The Court of Appeal in the UK has rejected Brazilian iron ore miner Vale’s attempt to appeal its inclusion in the lawsuit against Vale, Samarco and BHP Billiton for damages regarding the Mariana dam disaster.
While the Brazilian miner had stated that it should be excluded from the $46 billion lawsuit, its appeal was rejected by the UK court. This means that, in the event of claimants being successful in their case against BHP Billiton, Vale may also be held accountable for at least 50 percent of the damages awarded to the claimants by the court.
The Fundão dam in Mariana, in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, which served the iron ore and pellet producer Samarco, co-owned by Vale and BHP, collapsed in 2015, causing damages to villages and killing 19 people.
