Owners of Brazil mine fined more than 60m dollars over burst dams

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Owners of Brazil mine fined more than 60m dollars over burst dams



Brazil has imposed fines amounting to over sixty million dollars over two burst dams that resulted in at least deaths and twenty injuries on November 5.

President Dilma Roussef flew over the disaster on Thursday to see the damage for herself.

Federal authorities have announced plans to work with state prosecutors to investigate any possible crimes by the owners that could have contributed to the events.

Sixty million cubic metres of sludge and mining waste flooded on to nearby towns in the state of Minas Gerais.

It’s thought the death toll will rise in the coming days.

Up to 500 people were displaced as their homes were destroyed.

The mine is joint owned by multi-national conglomerates BHP and Vale, two of the world’s biggest mining companies.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2015-11-13

[elgordo38]

Pay up boys. The days of international mining are limited. Looked the billions Barrick invested in Pascua Lama and then threw up their hands in disgust and walked away taking a huge write off. Companies invest tons of money in mines in these countries only to pull the plug and walk away. In full disclosure I think the miners were guilty of negligence as outlined in this thread.

[RuamRudy]

It appears that this is only an interim fine. BHP Billiton made profits of nearly $14 billion in 2014. Hopefully something much more impactful and reflective of the disaster will be imposed upon them in the not so distant future.

[maoro2013]

It appears that this is only an interim fine. BHP Billiton made profits of nearly $14 billion in 2014. Hopefully something much more impactful and reflective of the disaster will be imposed upon them in the not so distant future.

Why has the fine got anything to do with one of the involved companies profits??

[RuamRudy]

It appears that this is only an interim fine. BHP Billiton made profits of nearly $14 billion in 2014. Hopefully something much more impactful and reflective of the disaster will be imposed upon them in the not so distant future.

Why has the fine got anything to do with one of the involved companies profits??

Well, firstly it should be investigated as to whether their profits are excessive because they cut corners on what would have been appropriate safety measures both in Brazil and elsewhere.

Secondly, I believe that corporate fines should be punitive as well as reflective of the nature of the incident. Hurt these companies badly and they will be more inclined to pay appropriate attention to hazardous operations such as this.

Industrial incidents happen every day, but the world's largest mining company should be a leader in HSSE. No system is foolproof but the tools and processes to identify and mitigate against hazards are well developed. Look at all the major industrial disasters that have occurred in recent years. How many are attributable to bad luck and unforeseen occurrences compared to corporate failures?