Brazilian prosecutors plan to file criminal charges against Vale SA and employees of the mining giant over the deadly collapse of a mine-waste dam in January, the lead investigator told The Wall Street Journal.
Brazil's mining agency (ANM) has ordered Vale to suspend operations at its Fabrica and Vargem Grande complexes, as part of an ongoing crackdown following last month's deadly dam break at the iron producer’s Corrego do Feijão mine.
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.
Grief over the hundreds of Brazilians feared lost in a mining disaster on Friday has quickly hardened into anger as victims' families and politicians say iron ore miner Vale SA and regulators have learned nothing from the recent past.