Brazil studying fines on mine operator in dam disaster: minister

Brazil’s government has said it may fine the mining giants for the environmental catastrophe.

New evacuations have been ordered at the scene of Brazil’s deadly iron ore mine dam burst as the chief executives of the mining giants that own the operation made a joint visit.

“The impact is regional”.

A bill for Brazil’s new mining code will include stricter regulations for tailings pond dams and could make dry processing of iron ore obligatory for miners, the bill’s reviewer, Congressman Leonardo Quintão, told Reuters.

“We are so sorry to everyone who has suffered or will suffer from this bad tragedy”.

“It is our intention to work with the authorities to get this fund functioning as soon as practicable”, BHP chief executive officer Andrew McKenzie and Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira said in a joint statement Wednesday after visiting the site in Minas Gerais state. More than 500 people remain displaced because of destroyed homes, and recovery crews are slogging through almost 100 km (62 miles) of mud-caked floodplain in a search for more victims.

As investigators probe the cause of the disaster, investors are concerned a temporary suspension of the joint-venture’s license to operate in the area may become permanent.

Underlining the political sensitivities, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is preparing to visit the affected towns this week, local newspaper Folha reported.

Neither the companies nor Brazilian officials have determined a cause for the ruptures, though Samarco acknowledged that workers, 13 of whom were washed away by the torrent, were engaged in an expansion of the dam when it burst.

“Our immediate priority is to understand the full extent of the consequences of the tailings dam breach and how we can provide further help”, the CEOs said. Politicians, environmentalists and residents are calling for tougher rules on the mining industry, which employs hundreds of thousands of people and is a major source of export revenue.

A person familiar with the insurance framework around the mine said on Tuesday that the disaster could trigger $850 million in insurance claims, on top of the $1.4 billion in clean-up costs estimated by Deutsche Bank analysts.

Vale’s Ferreira made an initial visit on Saturday, according to the company.

“We can not rebuild the lives of the families who have lost loved ones but we redouble our commitment to Samarco to support the response effort”.