Mining Giants Sign $30 Billion Settlement For 2015 Brazil Dam Disaster

Mining giants BHP and Vale have signed a nearly $30-billion (£23-billion) settlement with the Brazilian government in connection with the 2015 Mariana dam collapse, Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, Ione Wells reported for BBC News.

The dam collapse released toxic waste and mud, flooding nearby towns, rivers, and forests, claiming 19 lives, leaving hundreds homeless, and contaminating a major river. I Photo: Senado Federal Wikimedia Commons

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva attended the signing of the agreement on Friday. The dam collapse released toxic waste and mud, flooding nearby towns, rivers, and forests.

The disaster claimed 19 lives, left hundreds homeless, and contaminated a major river.

"I hope the mining companies have learned their lesson; it would have cost them less to prevent the disaster," President Lula remarked. The dam was owned by Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP.

Since the disaster, the companies have established a foundation to compensate victims and have invested billions in reconstruction efforts, including the building of a new town to replace one that was destroyed.

However, many people in the affected community still feel they have not received adequate compensation or the justice needed to rebuild their lives nine years later. Separately, over 620,000 people have filed lawsuits against BHP in the UK, where the company was headquartered at the time, in a trial that began earlier this week.