Brazil Halts Operations at Mine After Deadly Mudslide

While the causes of the dam failure are not yet known, its effect on the two companies that equally own the mine in the state of Minas Gerais has been profound, and is likely to worsen as investigations get underway.

While officials confirmed only one death since the accident on Thursday, TV Globo reported two bodies were found on a riverbank several kilometers away from the mine.

“They didn’t tell us the mud would come through with such force”, said Losangeles Freitas, resident of Barra Longa, a town nearly 80 kilometres downstream flooded by the 60 million cubic meters of waste water and mud.

The mud continued to flow and reached the Doce River, which flows to another state, which means the residues affected a number of other towns as well, damaging water distribution in a few areas.

Brazilian authorities said on Monday they had halted operations at an iron ore mine where the collapse of a waste reservoir triggered a deadly mudslide, the latest blow to co-owners BHP Billiton and Vale.

Rescuers abandoned a search for 7-year-old Tiago Damasceno as hope for survivors diminish five days after the Germano mine disaster.

Of the 28 people listed as missing, 13 were mine workers.

“What we’re seeing is maybe three to six people, at the most 10 people, who are missing from Bento”, he said ahead of an official briefing scheduled on Saturday. Samarco is paying for accommodations and relocation.

A spokesman with the U.S. Geological Survey, John Bellini, said the agency, which monitors seismic activity worldwide, had not located any earthquakes in the region on Thursday, noting that they would generally not receive data on any event smaller than a 4.2-magnitude quake.

Cristiane Temporao, a Samarco employee tending to those at the hotel, asked for patience while the company determines the best course.

On Sunday, BHP said Andrew Mackenzie, chief executive officer of the Australian company, was flying to Brazil to meet with Samarco executives and local authorities to better assess their needs.

Archbishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha of Mariana was expected to visit a sports center in the area, set up as a temporary shelter for those who lost their homes in the accident. Vale has referred all queries about the incident to Samarco.

The governor of Minas Gerais said it was the state’s worst environmental disaster.

“Obviously, this wasn’t enough”, he said.

Mariana Mayor Duarte Junior had to be hospitalized on Sunday due to stress and exhaustion, but doctors ruled out that he had suffered a heart attack.

And, with the Samarco mine the second largest producer of iron ore pellets in the world “there is an iron ore impact as well – there is a double whammy there”, Mr Lucas said.