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Samarco staff and BHP executives charged with homicide over Brazil dam spill

Friday, 21 Oct 2016 05:26:07

A car balances on a building in Bento Rodigues district after the dam burst disaster. (Reuters: Ricardo Moraes, file)

BHP Billiton's former president of iron ore is amongst 21 current and former staff charged with manslaughter and environmental crimes over a dam collapse that killed 19 people.

Key points:

  • Mining companies reject charges
  • Accused could face sentences of up to 54 years
  • Charges need to be approved by a judge before going to trial

The Samarco mine where the dam collapsed last year is jointly owned by BHP Billiton and Brazilian mining giant Vale.

Eight current and former BHP Billiton executives are understood to be facing the charges, five of whom are Australian based.

Two of those, Tony Ottaviano and Margaret Beck, are current employees.

The other three Australian residents include the high profile Jimmy Wilson, a former president of BHP Billiton iron ore who departed the company in February following a management restructure, along with Marcus Randolph and Jeffrey Zweig who also have since left.

The company said in a statement that it would defend the company against all charges and "fully support each of the affected individuals in their defence of the charges against them".

If convicted the accused - who include 16 Brazilians, two Americans, a South African, an Australian and a French citizen - could face sentences of up to 54 years, prosecutors said.

BHP, Vale and Samarco officials said in statements that they rejected the charges.

Environmental catastrophe

The charges follow what is now considered to be the largest environmental disaster in Brazil's history.

The dam at the Samarco Mineracao SA iron ore mine collapsed last November and released millions of tonnes of muddy mine waste, wiping out several small communities.

Samarco, its co-owners Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd and Brazilian engineering company VOGBR Recursos Hidricas e Geotechnica Ltd, which certified the dam's safety, were charged with environmental crimes.

Prosecutor Jose Adericido Leite Sampaio told reporters at a briefing in Belo Horizonte that executives at Samarco had clear awareness the dam could fail but ignored the risks and prioritised profit.

Following the dam collapse, thick red sludge flowed into one of Brazil's main rivers, the Rio Doce, killing fish and fouling water supplies for hundreds of kilometres before reaching the Atlantic ocean.

Trial pending

Before the case goes to trial, the charges need to be approved by a judge.

Prosecutors filed the charges with a judge in Belo Horizonte, Brazil earlier in the day.

"These people were murdered," prosecuter Eduardo Santos de Oliveira said.

Vale said in a statement that it would vigorously defend its executives and employees against the charges and that evidence shows that there was no knowledge that the dam could fail before the disaster occurred.

BHP said it has not been formally advised of the proceedings and that it rejects outright the charges against the company and those individuals who have been charged.

ABC/Reuters/AP

AustraliaPlus


 

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