We have filed a claim against Vale SA and Samarco Iron Ore Europe BV in the Netherlands for their role in the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history. Stichting Rio Doce Claims, a not-for-profit foundation in the Netherlands, has instructed Pogust Goodhead and Lemstra Van der Korst, a leading litigation firm in the Netherlands. as legal advisors in the claim.
The action is on behalf of claimants including seven Brazilian municipalities (from the states of Bahia, Espirito Santo and Minas Gerais), and a foundation representing nearly 1,000 businesses and associations, and over 77,000 individuals.
The Mariana dam disaster
On 5 November 2015, the Fundão tailings dam collapsed in Brazil, unleashing around 50 million cubic metres of toxic waste.
The collapse of the Mariana dam released mining tailings into the river basin below destroying hundreds of towns, villages, businesses and homes.
The mud travelled so quickly that inhabitants did not have time to escape, and 19 people lost their lives.
The dam was operated by Samarco, a joint venture between mining giants Vale of Brazil and Anglo-Australian BHP.
More than eight years after the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history, it is appalling that many victims have still not received adequate redress for the damages caused to them. The claims being brought in the Netherlands against Vale and Samarco Iron Ore Europe BV for their role in the disaster show that delaying justice and making low value offers in Brazil will not stop the victims from demanding justice.
We are glad to be instructed to hold Vale and Samarco’s subsidiary to account for their role in the disaster. The time has come for multinational conglomerates to be held accountable for their actions wherever they operate or make their profits. The Dutch subsidiaries played a key part in the global extraction of profits from the Samarco mine, with Samarco Iron Ore Europe BV a significant means of managing, marketing, and distributing Samarco’s iron ore produced from the Mariana dam that collapsed, destroying the lives of so many.
Not only have Vale and Samarco failed to do the right thing by the victims, but they have also exposed their investors to extraordinary levels of risk in relation to the unprecedented compensation bill the company now faces.
For too long the victims of the Mariana dam disaster have seen Vale and BHP continue to boast about their profits and shareholder dividends while the victims have yet to receive redress for their losses as they continue to live with the devastation the companies caused eight long years ago.”
The English Mariana dam disaster
Nearly 700,000 claimants are part of a separate class action against BHP in the English courts. You can find out more about the claim about BHP here.
