About 30 per cent of the total will go to Brumadinho, with funding for the families of victims, environmental projects and job creation. Some of the settlement money will also finance projects across the state, including public transport improvements and new infrastructure.
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Money will also go to riverside communities and farmers whose livelihoods were wrecked in the tragedy. The dam had held back mining waste known as tailings that contained high levels of iron oxide. Some 12 million cubic meters of tailings were released, polluting the nearby Paraopeba River, a major source of water for irrigation and fishing, federal prosecutors found.
One environmental study along the waterway revealed poor water quality, suitable only for boats. According to the report by non-governmental group SOS Mata Atlantica, heavy metals including iron, manganese and copper were at levels above those permitted by law.
Prosecutors also found evidence that companies knew the mine was operating with “unacceptable” safety conditions. Vale and German auditing firm TÜV SÜD executives face up to 30 years in jail if convicted.
In 2015, Vale was involved in another dam disaster in the city of Mariana, also in Minas Gerais state. In that incident, 19 people died and hundreds were forced to abandon their homes.
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