During the trial in London, BHP denies responsibility for the 2015 mine disaster in Brazil

Australian mining giant BHP on Wednesday denied responsibility for the 2015 dam collapse in Brazil, one of the country’s worst environmental disasters, as it launched its defense at the High Court in London.

A months-long trial will determine whether BHP is responsible for the bursting of the Fundao tailings dam in Brazil, which killed 19 people and sent a flood of thick toxic mud into villages, fields, rainforests, rivers and the ocean.

More than 620,000 plaintiffs, including 46 Brazilian municipalities, companies and indigenous peoples, are seeking damages worth an estimated 36 billion pounds ($47 million) in the civil suit.

The company’s lawyer, Shaheed Fatima, argued that BHP could not be considered a “direct polluter” because the dam was operated by Samarco, which is jointly owned by BHP and Brazilian mining company Vale.

The tragedy in the city of Mariana released almost 45 million cubic meters of highly toxic mining tailings, flooding 39 towns and leaving more than 600 people homeless.

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The flood killed thousands of animals and devastated protected tropical rainforests.

According to the victims’ lawyers, BHP was aware that the accumulation of toxic sediment, estimated at 1.3 million tons per year, far exceeded the established annual limit, which they believed contributed to the disaster.

Another BHP attorney, Daniel Toledano, said the plaintiffs failed to allege “an act or omission on the part of BHP from which harm would necessarily result.”

“Lasting effects”

At the time of the disaster, BHP’s headquarters were in the UK and Australia.

In opening submissions to the court on Monday, the company’s main argument was that it “does not own or operate the dam or any associated facilities.”

In a separate case in Brazil, Vale and BHP offered to pay almost $30 billion in damages. That amount was increased on the eve of the trial in London from almost $25 billion.

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BHP and Vale estimate that more than 430,000 claimants have already received compensation, including more than 200,000 parties in the London case.

BHP added that the Renova Foundation, which manages compensation and rehabilitation programs, has already paid out more than $7.9 billion in emergency aid.

The Australian mining giant also said the quality of rainfall-polluted river water had returned to pre-disaster levels.

However, a research paper published this year in the French-Brazilian geographical review Confins concluded that the dam break had caused “lasting pollution effects” on the Doce River and its coastal plain.

The hearing, which is scheduled to last until March, will determine Occupational Health and Safety’s potential liability for the disaster.

If BHP is found liable, a further trial will be held from October 2026 to determine damages.

source: AFP