Mining has caused three spills a year in the world since 02/02/2019 – Everyday life

The leaks caused by Vale and Samarco over the last three years have resulted in the formation of 44 million cubic meters of tailings in the state of Minas Gerais. These are two of the biggest incidents of this type in the world.

Since 2009, mining has caused 29 spills in different countries, an average of three incidents per year.

They left at least 93.77 million traces. m³ of residues and toxic substances, according to a study by the Wise Uranium Project, a non-profit organization against the extraction of uranium.

The volume tends to be larger because there is no information on various incidents. "There is a difficulty of transparency, according to the local government where the leak has occurred, and there is no international rule requiring reporting in such cases," said Peer de Rijk, director of the organization.

Since 2009,

In addition to the Samarco and Vale disasters, one of the largest of its kind has occurred in the Philippines, Brazil, in 2012, with 20.6 million m³ of residue Padcal mining dumped on the Agno River, in the north of the country

At that time, the leaders of the mining company Philex Mining Corp, responsible for the mine, claimed that the leak resulted from the rains

Another case was the leak at the 2014 Mount Polley Mine in Canada by Imperial Metals Corp. A dam collapsed, spilling millions of cubic meters of toxic gold and copper into the lakes and forests of the region.

The investigation concluded that the disruption resulted from the fact that the building had not been built and that the project had not been properly accounted for.

At the Mining Association of Canada – of which Vale is a part, since it is present in the country – the Companies are required to produce annual reports on the safety of their tailings storage on the basis of five indicators. In addition, every three years, an external audit determines whether monitoring is appropriate. Canada is considered by specialists to be the most advanced country in dam safety. The International Committee on Large Dams is another organization that gives safety guidelines to the sector.

Both entities are mentioned by Vale in its 2017 Sustainability Report (the latest release) as safety references for its dams. ] Wanted, the agency did not comment on Vale's specific case, but said that mining companies never appear at international committee meetings.

"They do not participate and usually do not use dam engineering in the construction of enterprises."

For Joaquim Pimenta, specialist of the dams of the Brazilian Committee of the dams, this is not not apply in Brazil. "Vale attends our meetings and has a huge and knowledgeable team."

In the case of Brazil, the problem is not in the guidelines or even the dam safety legislation, but in the application of these rules, he says. "Every year a dam falls, a law appears, but it's not the law we need, it's disciplined people who must follow the procedures." If at the time of construction, design, the operation, personnel not making the request, the accident occurs, ""

"In the case of Brumadinho, he states that it is too early to determine if this was the case, "said Mr. Pimenta.

" Companies do not always train well-trained teams or internal audit to check if they follow the procedures. "

The eight largest natural disasters involving mining dams in the world

First Sgorigrad, Bulgaria

May 1966

488 people died as a result of a disaster caused by a mining dam, copper and lead

[1985] July 1985