Operations restart at Samarco

Samarco’s operations were suspended following the failure of the Fundão dam in November 2015.

The dam, owned by Samarco – controlled by Vale and BHP – burst, releasing 39.2 million cubic meters of tailings waste in the Rio Doce Basin, killing 19 people. It was considered Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.

Samarco’s gradual restart of operations incorporates concentrator 3 at the Germano complex and pelletising plant 4 at Ubu, as well as a new system of tailings disposal combining a confined pit and tailings filtering system for dry stacking.

Independent tests have been carried out on Samarco’s preparations for a safe restart of operations. Samarco expects initially to produce approximately eight million tonnes of iron ore pellets per annum.

The extensive work undertaken by the Renova Foundation to remediate and compensate for the damages of the failure of the Fundão dam in 2015 continues, and BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda. continues to support Renova in its work, the company said.

By November 2020, Renova had spent approximately BRL 10.7 billion (approximately $2.1 billion) on its remediation and compensation programs and approximately BRL 3.1 billion ($620 million) had been paid in indemnities and emergency financial aid to approximately 325,000 people.