The Federal Court in Ponte Nova decided to acquit the joint venture Samarco and its owners Vale and BHP Group in a process in which they are accused of having direct criminal responsibility in the collapse of the Fundão dam in 2015, according to a court statement released this Thursday.
The collapse of Samarco’s iron ore tailings dam in Mariana (MG) left 19 dead, hundreds homeless and affected communities, forests and rivers, including from the Doce River to the Espírito Santo Sea.
Judge Patricia de Carvalho decided to acquit the three mining companies and 21 people, including former executives and technicians, “due to the lack of proof of individual acts that determined direct criminal responsibility for the disaster”, said the Federal Regional Court of the 6th Region (TRF6 ) in note.
The Federal Public Ministry (MPF), which filed the criminal charges, said in a statement that it will appeal.
The decision on criminal charges is separate from a R$170 billion agreement signed at the end of October, which addresses structural obligations and other claims linked to the dam collapse.
The deal could end more than 100 lawsuits against mining companies in the country and possibly limit legal action abroad, three sources with knowledge of the matter previously told Reuters.
BHP is responding to a lawsuit in the United Kingdom related to the Samarco dam disaster, and could face compensation of 47 billion dollars in damages.
Australia-based BHP said on Friday morning (local time) that it looked forward to formally receiving the Brazilian court’s ruling to assess the implications and any next steps.
“This decision does not affect the adjudication of the ongoing class action in the United Kingdom, which BHP continues to defend, because it duplicates efforts already underway in Brazil,” BHP said.
A Vale spokesperson said the court’s decision reinforces that the company acted within the law and in compliance with environmental standards.
Samarco stated that the decision confirms that the company “has always acted in accordance with current legislation”.
By André Romani in São Paulo and Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Patrícia Vilas Boas in São Paulo and Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru
