October 21, 2020
BHP Brazil Tailings Pond Lawsuit at $6.3bn, Nearing Court Date
BHP Brazil Tailings Pond Lawsuit at $6.3bn, Nearing Court Date
October 21, 2020
The total claim for the 2015 BHP/Vale tailings pond collapse has risen to $6.3bn and is nearing a court date pending several jurisdictional disputes. As a result of heavy rains in the Amazon basin, the Fundao tailings dam collapsed in 2015, with 10.6 trillion gallons of toxic sludge flowing into downstream communities, the Rio Doce river, and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean. The disaster killed 19 and led to a class-action lawsuit of over 200,000 Brazilians. Notably, ECOVAP’s natural enhanced evaporation technology is effective even in humid and rainy environments such as the Amazon. (full story)
Latest News
2nd Largest Metals Mine in World Vetoed Due to Clean Water Act
December 2020
Alaska’s Pebble Mine project was vetoed under section 404(c) of the federal Clean Water Act. Construction of the mine would have cost $4.7 billion.
Stringent New Standards for Tailing Pond Wastewater
November 2020
A joint report (August 2020) by the United Nations Environment Program and the International Council on Mining and Metals calls for much higher safety standards and regulations for managing mining tailings ponds.
Development of One of the World’s Largest Gold Mines Halted Due to Wastewater Disposal Risks
November 2020
Environmental approval for the biggest open-pit mining project in Latin America is being continually delayed due to environmental concerns about the difficulty of wastewater disposal and tailings dam safety.
.png)
