Brazilian mining company Samarco [6] has agreed to pay at least $260 million in compensation for the Nov. 11 collapse of two dams it used to hold waste water from iron ore, which caused an avalanche of mud to inundate nearby villages in Minas Gerais state. Eleven people were killed and 12 are missing, presumed dead. The village of Bento Rodrigues was totally destroyed, with more than 500 people left homeless. Residents are being temporarily housed in hotels in the city of Mariana. Some 250,000 local residents are also left without drinking water. The mud is still being tested for potential toxins from the mine. In imposing the fine, Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA [7] called the disaster "the worst mining accident in Brazil's history." Operations at the facility remain suspended, with Samarca admitting that two more dams at the site are "at risk of collapsing."
Samarco is owned by mining giants Vale [8] of Brazil and Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton [9]. After the disaster, protesters spread mud on the facade of the Vale headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. (BBC News [10], Nov. 17; BBC News [11], Nov. 16; Reuters [12], Nov. 11)
