Mining giants told to pay $9.7bn over Brazil dam disaster - BBC News

The 2015 collapse of the Fundão dam in Brazil caused a giant mudslide that killed 19 people.

28 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The dam bust caused a huge mud slideBy Peter HoskinsBusiness reporterA federal judge in Brazil has ordered mining giants BHP, Vale and their Samarco iron ore joint venture to pay 47.6bn reais ($9.67bn) in damages over a deadly dam burst in 2015.

The collapse of the Fundão dam in the south-east of the country caused a giant mudslide that killed 19 people.

It also severely polluted the Rio Doce river, compromising the waterway to its outlet in the Atlantic Ocean.

It was not immediately clear how much each company is required to pay.

Judge Vinicius Cobucci said the companies were liable for "moral damages", or non-material harm, such as emotional distress suffered by those affected by the incident.

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