Global mining giant BHP is found liable in Brazil's worst environmental disaster

"A London judge ruled Friday that global mining company BHP Group is liable in Brazil's worst environmental disaster when a dam collapse a decade ago unleashed tons of toxic waste into a major river, killing 19 people and devastating villages downstream.High Court Justice Finola O'Farrell said that Australia-based BHP was responsible, despite not owning the dam at the time, finding its negligence, carelessness or lack of skill led to the collapse.Anglo-Australian BHP owns 50% of Samarco, the Brazilian company that operates the iron ore mine where the tailings dam ruptured on Nov. 5, 2015."

"Sludge from the burst dam destroyed the once-bustling village of Bento Rodrigues in Minas Gerais state and badly damaged other towns. Enough mine waste to fill 13,000 Olympic-size swimming pools poured into the Doce River in southeastern Brazil, damaging 600 kilometers (370 miles) of the waterway and killing 14 tons of freshwater fish, according to a study by the University of Ulster in the U.K. The river, which the Krenak Indigenous people revere as a deity, has yet to recover."

London's High Court found BHP Group legally responsible for the 2015 Samarco tailings dam collapse, citing negligence, carelessness or lack of skill despite BHP not owning the dam. Anglo-Australian BHP holds 50% of Samarco, the operator of the iron ore mine where the dam ruptured on Nov. 5, 2015. The breach unleashed enough waste to fill 13,000 Olympic-size swimming pools, destroyed Bento Rodrigues, damaged other towns and contaminated 600 kilometers of the Doce River with heavy metals and dead fish. Legal disputes have delayed reconstruction and reparations. Victims hailed the decision as a historic step toward accountability and continued demands for justice.

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