CSOs 4 Tailings Justice

We are committed to building democratic community power to address the dangers of mine waste, including tailings facilities.

BRAZIL: Brumadinho dam collapse – A disaster waiting to happen? – BBC News

May 6, 2019

BBC News — On 25 January 2019, a dam at an iron ore mine in Brumadinho collapsed. It caused a huge landslide that buried everything in its path. More than 300 people were killed or are still missing. Vale – which owns the mine – is the world’s biggest producer of iron ore. It was the second mining disaster in the region since 2015, when a nearby dam co-owned by Vale also collapsed. Vale says the Brumadinho dam was assessed as safe by inspections over the years. Newsnight’s Gabriel Gatehouse went to Brazil in March, as bodies were still being pulled from the mud. He found a story not just about an industrial accident, but about a system of economic development and a way of life built upon the ever increasing extraction of finite natural resources.