A dam owned by iron ore company Vale SA that was the subject of an investigative report by a TV program last week is structurally sound and there is no reason for concern, Brazil’s national mining regulator said this week.
Brazilian Senate inquiry into the collapse of a Vale dam that killed nearly 350 people will recommend indictments of 14 people, including Vale executives, according to Brazil's official news service, Agencia Brasil, on Monday.
Mining giant BHP Billiton is facing a US$5bn claim for damages over a dam collapse in Brazil in 2015. Law firm SPG, which is representing than 200,000 Brazilian claimants, said the company knew of the risks at the Samarco mine in Minas Gerais state.
Around 200 residents were evacuated from an area near a tailings dam in Brazil operated by Vale SA late on Saturday, amid fears that it was structurally weak and could burst like a similar barrier failure last month that killed some 300 people.
Brazilian authorities arrested eight employees of mining giant Vale on Friday over a dam collapse at one of its mines three weeks ago that killed at least 166 people and left 147 missing, presumed dead.
Police in Brazil have arrested five people as part of an investigation into Friday's dam collapse in Brumadinho. At least 65 people died and 300 remain unaccounted for, when toxic sludge engulfed a company canteen and neighboring residential buildings.