The relatives of the 270 people who died in the collapse of a dam in Brumadinho in January 2019 will receive $ 7 billion in compensation from Vale, the Brazilian mining company to which the dam belonged. It is a figure that could also increase in the future to compensate the state of Minas Gerais, where the dam was located, for environmental and economic damage. Already so, however, the agreement reached up for compensation from Vale is the largest of its kind in the history of Brazil.
For the collapse of the dam, happened 12 December 2019, 16 people were indicted, including former president Fabio Schvartsman. In addition to causing the deaths of 270 people, the collapse of the dam in Brumadinho caused serious environmental problems, particularly along the course of the Paraopeba River.
Vale is the largest producer of iron and nickel minerals in the world and already in 2015, in Mariana, also in Minas Gerais, a dam managed by a joint venture between Vale and the Australian BHP Billiton had collapsed. 19 people died and 60 million cubic meters of debris from mining activities ended up in the Doce River, through which it then reached the Atlantic Ocean, causing a huge environmental disaster.
–
