Iron Ore

https://www.nytimes.com/

A mining dam collapsed and buried more than 150 people. Now Brazil is casting an anxious eye on dozens of dams like it.

BRUMADINHO, BRAZIL — Luiz de Castro was installing lamps at a mining complex in Brazil late last month when a loud blast split the air. He figured it was just a truck tire popping, but a friend knew better. “No, it’s not that!” the friend said. “Run!”

Dashing up a staircase, caked in mud and pelted by flying rocks, Mr. Castro clambered to safety. But as he watched, a wall of mud unleashed by the collapse of a mining dam swallowed his co-workers, he said. Tiago, George, Icaro — they and at least 154 others, all buried alive.

The deluge of toxic mud stretched for five miles, crushing homes, offices and people — a tragedy, but hardly a surprise, experts say. There are 88 mining dams in Brazil built like the one that failed — enormous reservoirs of mining waste held back by little more than walls of sand and silt. And all but four of the dams have been rated by the government as equally vulnerable, or worse.

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https://www.bbc.com/

The catastrophic collapse of a dam at a mine in Brazil has exposed a darker side of an industry that the world depends on. At nearly 800 sites across the country and thousands more around the world, dams contain huge loads of mining waste.

One British scientist, Dr Stephen Edwards of UCL, has warned that “we are sitting on a time bomb”. He told BBC News that further disasters were inevitable.

Over the last few days in the heart of Brazil’s mining belt, I’ve been investigating two very different sites where the risks of massive damage seem plausible. One is a vast lake of sludge perched high above a nervous community; the other is an abandoned gold mine at risk of leaking poisons.

Why are there dumps of mining waste?

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https://uk.reuters.com/

BELO HORIZONTE/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Some 700 people were evacuated early on Friday from Brazilian towns near two separate tailings dams operated by Vale SA and ArcelorMittal on mounting fears of a recurrence of last month’s deadly dam burst nearby.

The collapse two weeks ago unleashed an avalanche of mud that engulfed nearby buildings and farms, killing an estimated 300 people in Brazil’s deadliest mining disaster.

As evidence mounted that Vale missed warnings of trouble at the dam in the town of Brumadinho, pressure has risen on the firm and other mining companies to bolster safety measures to avoid a recurrence.

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https://www.reuters.com/

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais canceled Vale SA’s license to operate a dam at one of its largest mines, the company said on Wednesday, following the collapse of another dam in the state that killed an estimated 300 people.

Vale has come under intense public pressure since the Jan. 25 dam burst, with some politicians and prosecutors calling for criminal prosecution and a management shakeup, especially since it happened less than four years after another fatal dam burst in Minas Gerais.

Vale shares on Sao Paulo’s Bovespa exchange fell 4.9 percent to a seven-day low of 42.46 on Wednesday, while its U.S. traded ADRS slumped 6.2 percent.

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https://www.bloomberg.com/

Vale SA said it’s temporarily halting some operations at its Brucutu mine, potentially causing a production loss of about 30 million metric tons of iron ore a year — a move that an analyst said could cause “incremental supply shock.” Iron ore in Singapore climbed.

The move is in compliance with a Brazilian court order issued to help improve safety after one of Vale’s tailings dam in Minas Gerais state collapsed in late January, killing more than 130 people and leveling part of a town.

The output cut is on top of the planned 40 million ton curbs that the company will implement as it decommissions dams similar to the one involved in the fatal accident.

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https://www.reuters.com/

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Vale (VALE3.SA) knew as recently as last year that some of the areas hit by last week’s deadly mining disaster were at risk if its tailings dam burst, according to an internal Vale study published by a local newspaper on Friday.

The study seen by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo represents a fresh embarrassment for the world’s largest iron ore miner, which has come under intense pressure over the burst tailings dam at its Corrego do Feijao mine last Friday.

With 110 people confirmed dead and another 238 missing, according to a firefighters’ count on Thursday evening, the tailings dam collapse in the town of Brumadinho could be Brazil’s deadliest mine disaster.

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https://www.bloomberg.com/

The deadly collapse of a Vale SA tailings dam in Brazil is serving as a wake-up call for an industry that regularly cuts costs by storing mining waste in the cheapest possible way.

The slurry of ground rock and effluents left over after companies extract marketable minerals from the ground has been stored for decades in massive ponds held back by embankments or dams. Their safety, though, depends very much on the design of the ponds, and on the cost of building them.

The Vale SA dam that collapsed in Brazil last week, and a previous dam that failed there three years earlier, were both built on the go using the “upstream” method, typically the cheapest by far. Under that technique, the wall containing the pond is primarily constructed of tailings, and it’s designed to grow as more effluents are pumped in. A costlier method pre-builds the walls and insulates them.

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https://www.reuters.com/

BRUMADINHO, Brazil (Reuters) – Residents of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais reacted with indifference and in many cases anger at a series of measures miner Vale SA has pledged to adopt following last week’s dam burst that almost certainly killed over 300 people.

“Too Late” read the newspaper of record here, O Estado de Minas, after Vale, the world’s largest iron ore miner, said it would take up to 10 percent of its production offline and spend 5 billion reais ($1.36 billion) to decommission 10 dams like the one that collapsed at its Corrego do Feijao mine last Friday.

With some 99 people confirmed dead and another 250 missing, according to firefighters, the tailings dam collapse in the town of Brumadinho may be Brazil’s deadliest-ever mine disaster.

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https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — The global iron ore market was pitched into turmoil after Brazil’s Vale SA, the world’s largest producer, outlined plans to cut output after a deadly dam breach, buoying shares of rivals as investors weighed the impact of the disruption. Prices soared, with futures rallying more than 9 percent.

Vale will decommission some tailings dams, curbing production by 40 million tons a year, Chief Executive Officer Fabio Schvartsman said at a press conference, citing a plan presented to the Energy and Environment Ministries. The impact will be partially offset by an increase in production from other systems, Vale said. The company had planned to mine 400 million tons this year.

The severity of the fallout will hinge on Vale’s ability, as well as efforts by other miners, to make up the tons that’ll be lost. A sharp reduction in supply, if that happens, would tighten the global seaborne market, aiding Rio Tinto Group, BHP Group and Anglo American Plc, while lifting costs for steelmakers across the globe.

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https://www.reuters.com/

BRASILIA/BRUMADINHO, Brazil (Reuters) – Vale SA (VALE3.SA), the world’s largest iron ore miner, on Tuesday vowed to take as much as 10 percent of its ore output offline in order to decommission 10 more dams like the one that burst last week, killing scores of workers and nearby residents.

Chief Executive Fabio Schvartsman said it would temporarily paralyze operations using those dams and spend 5 billion reais ($1.3 billion) to decommission them over the next three years.

The move came as prosecutors began arresting Vale executives over the Friday collapse of a tailings dam in the Brazilian town of Brumadinho, which was hit by a torrent of mining waste that killed at least 84 people and left hundreds more missing.

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