We have previously posted about the collapse of a mining tailings dam in Brazil, most recently how police have proposed criminal charges against mining giant Vale – the world's largest iron ore producer – and German safety firm Tüv Süd.
A report on the cause of the disaster by a panel of experts appointed by the company’s lawyers has now been released:
A company-commissioned study released Thursday on a deadly dam break in Brazil found that none of the structure’s monitoring systems gave warning of the collapse that killed at least 257 people — though other experts have said the disaster could have been prevented.
Vale report blames deadly Brumadinho dam collapse on faulty design, water management and heavy rain. Says monitoring didn't detect any problems before the incident. https://t.co/FnKDyFCKLS— Tina Davis (@tina_davis) December 12, 2019
Others talk about a tale of negligence and cover-up:
Employees and contractors said Brazilian miner Vale SA didn't heed their safety warnings before a collapse of one of its dams killed 270 people https://t.co/T6MC84sVcO— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 31, 2019
Vale's deadly dam collapse: a tale of negligence, coverup, and a compliant state. Our new front-page exclusive on what led to the miner's January disaster that killed 270 people in the most brutal way. Charges coming early 2020. With @luciwsj and @kowsmann https://t.co/2Hmrem0qo0— Samantha Pearson (@samanthapearson) December 31, 2019
Our latest WSJ exclusive on Vale's dam tragedy: Vale's top execs received an anonymous email warning them about the dams only 2 weeks before the Jan collapse.The CEO responded by pursuing the writer’s identity, calling them a ‘cancer.’ https://t.co/CqvTH3LYFD With @luciwsj— Samantha Pearson (@samanthapearson) November 5, 2019
The dangers from tailing dams are not limited to Vale:
Amazing report by reuters on dangers of #tailingsdams storing mine waste. After Brumadinho desaster in Brazil, group of investors incl @Allianz and led by @churchofengland requested global info of location + type of dams - <2.000 dams so far identified (100s likely undisclosed). https://t.co/MedRn8mRD7— Thomas Liesch (@Thomas_Liesch) December 20, 2019
The #Siberian dam collapse in #Russia is the continuation of tragedies with tailing dams; this is only 10 months after the Brazilian tailing dam collapse with 200 deaths. Tailing dams should be treated as real dams! Tailing dams require rigorous MONITORING like real dams! https://t.co/8Wtu1R2pee— Dr Mohammad Heidarzadeh (@Mo_Heidarzadeh) October 19, 2019
