13th Nov 2015 06:45
LONDON (Alliance News) - BHP Billiton PLC provided a further update on the tailings dam breach at its Samarco Mineração SA joint venture with Brazilian miner Vale SA, saying nine fatalities have been confirmed so far and the operating licence for the site has been suspended.
Operations at the Samarco site will remain suspended as authorities open investigations into the incident and rectification plans are developed. BHP said Samarco is continuing to monitor the tailings facilities impacted by the dam breach at the project and is working up plans to reinforce the dam structures and stabilise the local area.
A dam breach at the Samarco iron ore operation in Minas Gerais in Brazil occurred on Thursday last week. The Samarco operations include a three-tiered tailings dam complex. Within this complex, the Fundão dam failed and the downstream Santarém dam also was affected.
This resulted in a significant release of mine tailings, flooding the community of Bento Rodrigues and impacting other communities downstream. The third dam in the complex, the Germano dam, is being monitored by Samarco.
BHP said nine fatalities have so far been confirmed. Four previously accounted for people have now been found, while 19 others remain unaccounted for. BHP said its immediate focus is on the welfare of the Samarco workforce and the local community in the area.
Samarco, along with representatives of BHP and Vale will meet with lead insurers in Brazil in the coming week.
The incident forced BHP on Monday to place its 2016 iron ore guidance under review.
Also on Thursday, Brazil President Dilma Rousseff informed BHP Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie and Vale Chief Executive Murilo Ferreira that the company will face fines for the accident, according to the Financial Times. She also upped the rhetoric surrounding the incident, comparing it to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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