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A little more than a month before the tragedy caused by the rupture of a dam in Brumadinho (MG), in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, Vale got the Minas Gerais government the 39. authorization to carry out a project for the expansion of the Córrego do Feijão mines. , where the disaster occurred, and Jangada. Both are part of the Paraopeba complex.
However, the planned works contravened certain safety recommendations of the Tüv Süd consultants' report, according to engineers heard by G1 . Developed in July 2018 at the request of Vale, the report of the German company confirmed the stability of the structure, but detected problems in the drainage system and made reservations – the stability of the elevation being within the safety limits set by the Brazilian standard.
The study recommended that miners increase safety and avoid liquefaction, a phenomenon that occurs when a rigid material becomes fluid and one of the possible causes the Brumadinho dam, which left 157 dead and 182 missing.
- prohibit explosions near the mine;
- prevent the traffic of vehicles and heavy equipment; in the structure.
the use of explosives
for the mine expansion approved on December 11 by the Secretariat of the Environment (Semad) Vale G1 Vale n did not indicate whether she had already started the work, but confirmed that she had made detonations in the Raft and Bean mines, without even saying when they were made.
The interventions would increase the production capacity by nearly 70%, from the present 10.6 million tons of iron ore to 17 million tons per year. "Semad's opinion on the licensing process would extend the life of the project until 2032".
The Secretariat reported that Vale only presented the structure's declaration of stability, without mentioning any risk factors.
The engineer Carlos Martinez, professor at the Federal University of Itajubá (Unifei) in Minas Gerais, said the work planned for the expansion of the mines would affect the safety of the dam. "This approval puts the dam at risk, and Semad gave it, the technicians should not have given it, and Vale should not have asked for it," he said in a statement. an interview with G1 .
The reuse of residues from two dams at the Córrego mine The objective was to recover iron ore fines to produce pellet feed fines (PFFs), used in the production of pellets (small
Ore pellets For this purpose, mechanical backhoe removal was planned for the I dam, followed by stacking and transportation, and the project also mentions explosions at the Paraopeba complex. "Explosives are planned for explosives at the Jangada mine and the loading and transport of ore and waste rock by machinery and equipment that can generate acoustic and vibration impacts", says Semad's opinion ] (see other impacts below)
Professor of Engineering of the Rio Pontificia Universidade Católica (PUC) and former President of the Brazilian Association of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Alberto Sayão admits that detonations in areas close to mines, as well as truck movements, could trigger liquefaction.
"In an environment of iron mines, the trucks are very big, very heavy, and when they are loaded with the stones extracted from the mine, he [o terreno] vibrates and they [autores do relatório] ask to avoid" says Sayão . "These are huge trucks, which cause a worry similar to that of a small magnitude earthquake."
An email exchange between professionals from Vale, Tüv Süd and Tec Wise, another contractor, revealed that the miner had learned of the existence of sensor problems in Brumadinho two days before the dam broke.
The messages were identified by the Federal Police (FP), who collected the testimony of two German consulting engineers responsible for the awards. Arrested on January 29, André Ybaduda and Makoto Mamba left the prison on Thursday (7).
The experts and experts who joined the working group in charge of the investigation will examine whether explosions in neighboring mines have contributed to the liquefaction of dam B1.
The Experts
Carlos Martinez, of Unifei, says he is "shocked" by the badyzes made in Tüv Süd's report. He said the site should have been evacuated: "They had to take all the staff in. They were very arrogant technologically."
Professor Edilson Pizzato, of the Institute of Geoscience (IGC) of the University of São Paulo (USP), badyzed the report of Tüv Süd and stated that this methodology was known and used in the whole world. He explained that a series of calculations and tests had been carried out based on the indicators measured at that time. In case of intervention, additional studies should have been performed.
"If they had to make a detonation – or work that needed to be done – nearby, according to the report itself, that could change the conditions that were studied." They could change these conditions and eventually trigger the process [de liquefação] ", said Pizzato." 19659028] "With this report [da consultoria alemã] it would be very disturbing to perform precisely that type of work that he quotes and that can cause the break.
Favorable opinion of the Secretariat for the Environment
On November 20, an opinion of the Superintendence of Priority Projects (SUPPRI) – related to Semad –
The document states that Vale has formalized the request for license in August 2015 The licensed business included a series of new interventions aimed at developing the activities of the Paraopeba complex.
- Implantation of the sterile disposal pile (material containing little or no ore) at the Córrego do Feijão mine
- Continuation of Cava operations (large hole from which the ore is mined)] Continuity and expansion of the operations of the Menezes Barren pile (located in the region);
- Mineral recovery of dams I and VI of min
- Implementation of waste water (mine tailings pipeline) of 1,544 meters in the Córrego do Feijão mine;
- Removal of res mining idus;
- Adequations of the dry ore processing plant and the semi-mobile plant of Córrego do Feijão
Single Bill against the Licenses
Vale's proposed license consisted of three licenses:
- Previous License;
- Installation license for the extension project of the Córrego do Feijão mine;
- and operating license.
The three applications were approved on December 11, 2018. The license term is 10 years.
The Chamber of Mining Activities, which approved the licensing system, is composed of representatives of the public authorities and civil society.
On the day of approval, nine people were present. Environmentalist Maria Teresa Corujo, Teca, of the National Forum of Civil Society on Watershed Committees (Fonasc-CBH), also voted. For her, each license should be approved separately. "It could never have been the three licenses at once," he said, adding that the trial had "committed a number of serious crimes."
Teca told G1 that the chamber had not been informed of Tüv Süd's safety recommendations. "We have never had access to this report and, during the licensing process, we have not received the documents proving the stability." Semad's technical advice simply stated that, with respect to stability, everything is guaranteed by the auditor. "
Even without knowing that the dam's stability was at the safety limit, Teca objected to the work, believing that the expansion of activities posed a risk to the environment. even asked three times that the license be removed from the agenda.According to the activist, the chamber had little time to badyze it.
In his requests for permission. opinion, Teca drew attention to the point of clearing 13.15 hectares of native vegetation in the Permanent Protection Zone (PPA), which, in its view, corresponds to 18 Mineirão.
For the activist, the licensing process is a key element to show how the "modus operandi of mining in Minas Gerais" works. a bureaucratic effect ("register"), without there being in fact an badysis of the following i and environmental and social control.
Impacts on fauna, flora and water supply
Semad's opinion details the expected impacts of the works and extension activities of the Paraopeba complex in Vale. Listed interference, in addition to the removal of native vegetation, is interference in the region's water resources, which could affect water supplies to surrounding communities.
The area of direct influence (AID) includes the village of Beech Creek, the White House district, the village of Tejuco, the Cachoeira Park and the village of Monte Cristo.
See below, other impacts, according to document:
- Noise: Sources of noise during the operating phase are caused by machinery and equipment.
- Air Quality: The emission of particulates and gases by vehicles and equipment is the main impact of the operating phase with respect to the quality of the air;
- Quality and Flow of Surface Water: The sources of impact on surface water are similar to those of the phase of implantation when sediment transport and sedimentation occur. oils and fats resulting from the supply and maintenance of machinery and equipment may cause changes in the physical and chemical parameters and Installation for erosive processes: The effects of erosion processes are due to the exposure of the soil to the destruction of vegetation and mainly to the movement of land,
- Loss of microorganisms -habitat and wildlife: the environmental interventions authorized in this notice will result in the loss of micro-habitats, wildlife.
What Vale, Semad and ANM Say
In a note, Vale confirmed the detonations in the mines of Jangada and Beans. "The occurrence of detonations is inherent in the mining activities and these activities, carried out in a controlled manner in the mining mines of Córrego do Feijão and Jangada, were in accordance with the recommendations of the audit."
The company n & ## It did not answer if the planned interventions had already begun, until their realization.
The State Secretariat for the Environment (Semad), for its part, declared that the technical demonstration of pulp took into account the socio-environmental aspects of the project.
According to the agency, it is up to Vale "to declare, where appropriate, unsafe situations unknown to the licensing authority, for evaluation or, if required by law, to request a demonstration at the control body responsible for monitoring the safety of dams, in this case the Agency "
Semad added that the company" presented the declaration of stability, not doing obstacle to the continuation of "
" It is interesting to note that there has been no express manifestation of triggering processes or other obstacles to the judgment of the permit for the reuse of residues and the dismantling of the structure of the B1 dam, "the statement said.
The National Mine Agency (ANM), the federal government responsible for overseeing these developments, did not respond when it was aware of the report of the German company.
BREAKAGE OF MOISTURE IN BRUMADINHO
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