Dam burst at Vale, BHP mine devastates Brazilian town

While Brazil’s union of iron and base metal industry workers, Metabase, first gave the number of 15 people dead, news website G1 is stating around 45 people were also reported missing, including 30 who were working on the dam at the time. BHP owns 50% of that entity, with Brazil’s Vale holding the remaining 50%, where Samarco operates the Germano iron ore mine. “We are in the process of obtaining more details from Samarco Mineração”.

Civil defense authorities in Mariana said it was evacuating about 600 people to higher ground from the village of Bento Rodrigues, where television footage showed dozens of homes destroyed by the mudslide.

Vale directed media questions to Samarco, while BHP did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The dam held water and residue from mining work, a mixture that is often toxic. It was located near a river, fueling fears of potential water contamination.

Site of the burst dam in Minas Gerais state.

A statement from Samarco said the cause of the dam burst had not been determined yet.

A statement from the city hall of Mariana says the dam burst Thursday afternoon near a mining operation in a rural area about 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro.

It said ambulances had been sent to the scene but there are no confirmed victims for the moment.

Miners are struggling amid a collapse in prices of iron ore and other commodities due to concerns about demand from China, the world’s top consumer of industrial raw materials.

Iron ore is transported down a slurry pipe to Espirito Santo in south-eastern Brazil, where it is turned into pellets.

“BHP Billiton understands that a serious incident has occurred at the Samarco Mineracao SA’s iron ore operation in Minas Gerais”, he said.