Vale’s activities in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state, were suspended late on Friday following a deadly iron ore waste dam burst, which killed 60 people so far and left hundreds missing, SteelOrbis has learned. The death toll continues to rise as officials search for bodies.
Vale reported on Friday afternoon the burst of its No. 1 iron ore dam, located at its Feijão mine complex. After the immediate shutdown of the Brumadinho operations, which were severely devasted by the burst, Vale was fined BRL 250 million by federal environmental regulator, IBAMA, and another BRL 99.1 million by state environmental authority Semad.
Additionally, a Minas Gerais state court seized Vale’s assets totaling about BRL 11 billion in three separate document filings. Vale also suspended on Monday the payment of dividends for investors and bonuses for top executives.
Vale’s dam burst, the deadliest thus far, killed three times more than the Mariana disaster in November 2015; 19 people were killed and production was halted at production at pellets producer Samarco, which is owned by Vale (50 percent) and BHP Billiton (50 percent). Pellet production has not resumed since then, despite multiple attempts.
Vale said the dam was idled and contained about 11.7 million cubic meters of iron ore waste. In media reports, the company claimed the dam was “stable” and had been properly inspected.
From an environmental perspective, the Brumadinho disaster was not as devastating as the Mariana dam burst. However, there were more victims in the recent incident due to the proximity of the dam to Vale’s other facilities in the Brumadinho site, including a cafeteria where employees were eating lunch at the time of the burst.