It is often called Brazil's worst environmental disaster in modern times. The dam collapse at a mine in Minas Gerais ten years ago caused deadly flooding and released tons of toxic waste that flowed into the Rio Doce. Enough mine pollution to fill 13,000 Olympic swimming pools spread along almost 700 kilometers of waterways.
Although British-Australian BHP – one of the world’s largest mining companies – did not own the mine at the time, they are now considered to be at fault. BHP owns 50 percent of Brazilian Samarco, which operates the iron ore mine where the tailings dam burst.
Friday's ruling at the High Court in London only established liability, but opens the door to billions of pounds in damages. Around 600,000 Brazilians are seeking a total of 36 billion pounds in compensation.
The village of Bento Rodrigues was completely destroyed and several other communities suffered major damage when toxic sludge from the dam spread unchecked. The polluted Doce River has still not recovered from the disaster, which killed 19 people, caused water shortages, forced hundreds of people to flee their homes and killed 14 tons of freshwater fish.
In April last year, mining companies Samarco, BHP and Brazilian Vale reached a settlement with the government in Brasilia. According to the agreement, Samarco will pay the equivalent of around SEK 218 billion in compensation over 20 years.
