Dam that Broke in Mariana Contained Waste Material Belonging to Vale

11/25/2015 - 08h59

The dam that broke in Mariana, Minas Gerais, causing an unprecedented environmental disaster affecting as far away as the Espírito Santo coastline, also contained mining rejects belonging to Vale, Brazil's largest mining company.

One of Samarco's shareholders (on the side of the Anglo-Australian company BHP Billiton) responsible for the dam, Vale used the area to store waste from iron ore production.

	Ricardo Moraes/Reuters
	The waste, which has contaminated almost all of the River Doce, arrived at the Espírito Santo coastline at the weekend.

Vale confirmed that it had a contract with Samarco, permitting it to use the dam for its waste materials, but said that its waste amounted to less than 5% of the total.

Despite being a Samarco shareholder, until now Vale has accepted no share of responsibility for the disaster. This is the first time it has admitted storing waste materials in the dam.

However, from the legal point of view, Samarco is the liable party, as it was responsible for management and maintenance of the dam.

The causes of the disaster remain unknown, and an investigation will be necessary to determine whether the quantity of waste deposited by Vale in the dam was within the established limits.

The waste, which has contaminated almost all of the River Doce, arrived at the Espírito Santo coastline at the weekend.

Vale confirmed to Folha on Monday that it used the Fundão dam to deposit iron ore waste from the treatment plants at the Alegria mine, in Mariana.

It said that it sent to the Fundão dam "less than 5% of the total waste" deposited there. "The relationship was governed by a contract between the companies, which designated Samarco as responsible for the management, control and operation of the dam," it added.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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