14th Nov 2024 14:47
(Alliance News) - (Alliance News) - A Brazilian court on Thursday cleared mining titans BHP Group Ltd and Vale, and their Brazilian joint venture Samarco Mineracao SA, of responsibility over a 2015 dam collapse that caused the country's worst ever environmental disaster.
The court in Minas Gerais state, where the disaster occurred, said that there was no conclusive evidence that "individual behavior contributed directly and decisively to the collapse of the dam," according to the ruling seen by AFP.
The decision comes nearly three weeks after Australia's BHP and Brazil's Vale reached a deal with Brazil's government to pay nearly USD30 billion in damages over the collapse of the tailings dam at a Samarco mine in the southeastern town of Mariana.
The dam's failure unleashed a giant torrent of mud that swamped villages, rivers and rainforest, killing 19 people on its way to the sea and wreaking environmental havoc.
The compensation deal agreed last month was the biggest for an environmental disaster in modern history, according to Brazil's government.
It came a month into an ongoing mega-trial in London over BHP's role in the dam's failure.
More than 620,000 complainants, including 46 Brazilian municipalities and several Indigenous communities, are seeking an estimated GBP36 billion (USD47 million) in damages from the company, which denies responsibility.
BHP shares fell 0.2% to 2,053.00 pence each on Thursday afternoon in London, while they rose 0.9% to ZAR476.64 each in Johannesburg.
source: AFP
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