Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines – Page 29

Peru’s environmental watchdog reports tailings spill from Southern Copper mine – by Marco Aquino (Reuters U.K. – February 11, 2019)

February 11, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Peru’s environmental watchdog said on Sunday it was investigating a tailings spill from a unit of Southern Copper Corp, one of the world’s largest copper producers, into a river in an area that has been inundated by heavy rains.

The Agency of Evaluation and Environmental Enforcement (OEFA) said the spill occurred in the waste deposit area of the Cuajone mining operations of Southern Copper, located in the Moquegua region approximately 535 miles (860 km) southeast of Lima.

OEFA investigators at the Cuajone mine said a “flow of a greenish solution” into the Torata River since Friday has stopped.

A Tidal Wave of Mud – by Shasta Darlington, James Glanz, Manuela Andreoni, Matthew Bloch, Sergio Peçanha, Anjali Singhvi and Troy Griggs (New York Times – February 9, 2019)

February 9, 2019

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.

‘Time bomb’ warning on mining dam disasters – by David Shukman (BBC News – February 7, 2019)

February 8, 2019

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?

[Michigan Mining] Can Brazilian tailings dam disaster happen here? – by Al Gedicks (La Crosse Tribune – February 8, 2019)

February 8, 2019

https://lacrossetribune.com/

The recent collapse of a mine tailings dam in southeastern Brazil has already resulted in 134 fatalities, leaving an estimated 300 people still missing, according to rescue workers.

The spill flooded nearby homes, submerging cars and buses under a river of reddish-brown sludge. This environmental disaster should raise red flags for Michigan regulators and the communities downstream from Aquila Resources’ proposed open-pit metallic sulfide mine and tailings dam next to the Menominee River on the Wisconsin-Michigan border.

On Jan. 25, a 40-year-old, 280-foot high tailings dam failed in Brumadinho, Brazil, releasing almost 12 million cubic meters of mine waste.

Brazil evacuates towns near Vale, ArcelorMittal dams on fears of collapse – by Marta Nogueira and Pedro Fonseca (Reuters U.K. – February 8, 2019)

February 8, 2019

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.

Brazilian state cancels Vale licenses at two mines in wake of disaster – by Ana Mano and Christian Plumb (Reuters U.S. – February 6, 2019)

February 7, 2019

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.

Surging Iron Ore Prices Will Hurt China’s Economy While Benefiting Australia And Brazil – by Jim Collins (Forbes Magazine – February 6, 2019)

February 7, 2019

https://www.forbes.com/

As we enter the Year of the Pig in the Chinese calendar, the performance of iron ore has been, well, piggish of late. Coal and iron ore are the two key ingredients in the production of steel in the Bessemer process. As popular as Alibaba, Tencent’s WeChat, iQiyi and countless other Chinese apps may be, steel production is still the best determinant of the health of the Chinese economy.

Chinese government estimates place 2018 steel output at 923 million tonnes, an 11% increase over 2017’s figure. October’s output of 82.552 million tonnes reflected an all-time record for the Chinese economy.

So, all those out-of-context, sentiment-based data points that seem to be showing a slowdown in the Chinese economy–PMI data for example–really are giving a false positive for the all-important “China’s economy is slowing” narrative that so many market observers in the U.S. love to push.

RPT-COLUMN-Vale disaster makes miners’ image problem worse – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – February 6, 2019)

February 6, 2019

https://www.reuters.com/

CAPE TOWN, Feb 6 (Reuters) – The response to the horrendous dam collapse at a mine owned by Brazil’s Vale has focused on iron ore prices and how a disaster that will likely claim more than 300 lives occurred, and what must be done to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

These are valid concerns, but the risk of focusing on the immediate issues is that the much larger problems of the mining industry are once again glossed over. Namely that miners aren’t trusted and suffer from a serious image problem.

It may seem somewhat trivial to talk about image in the face of such a human tragedy, but mining’s poor image across a range of stakeholders is the major issue for the industry.

Vale Iron-Ore Mine Halt Risks `Incremental Supply Shock’ – by R.T. Watson (Bloomberg News – February 4, 2019)

February 5, 2019

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.

Brazil Dam Catastrophe Sounds Alarm for U.S. Waste Ponds (Bloomberg Environment – February 4, 2019)

February 4, 2019

https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/

A mining dam failure similar to the one that killed more than 100 people in Brazil could happen in the U.S., according to a mine engineer who consults with the government.

At the root of the risk is a quilt of differing state regulations, sloppy dam construction, lax maintenance, neglect of decades-old dams that are wrongly assumed to be stable, and stronger storms dumping water into dams that weren’t designed to handle the weight, said James Kuipers, who consults with the Environmental Protection Agency and state governments on tailings dams, which hold mining waste.

“It can happen here,” Kuipers told Bloomberg Environment. But the industry says tailings dams in the U.S. are safer than they’ve ever been, thanks to advances in technology and design.

Sudbury column: Who pays the bill for Ontario’s abandoned mines? – by John Gunn (Sudbury Star – February 2, 2019)

February 4, 2019

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Note: This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.

John Gunn is the Canada Research Chair in Stressed Aquatic Systems, Laurentian University.

The fate of abandoned mines are a familiar problem for those living in communal spaces, with common rooms and shared kitchens: “Who is going to clean up this mess?” and “Who is going to pay for the damages?”

Public lands have the same problem when people dump trash in the bush to avoid paying landfill fees. But cleaning up industrial brownfields, like the mercury-laden sediments in the English-Wabigoon River near Grassy Narrows First Nation in northwestern Ontario, is a far bigger problem than collecting litter.

We are beginning to see some changes. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that bankrupt oil and gas companies must meet their environmental commitments before they pay off their creditors.

How Brazil’s mining tragedy could shake up Australia’s iron ore market – by Kylie Purcell (Your Money – February 1, 2019)

February 1, 2019

Your Money

Australia’s mining sector saw enormous financial gains this week – but it follows a tragedy that raises serious questions about the operations being run by some of the world’s most powerful mining corporations.

Shares in Australia’s iron ore sector surged Wednesday after news that Vale, the world’s biggest iron ore producer, would close some operations following a dam collapse in Brumadinho that left more than 100 dead and hundreds more missing.

Should the death toll increase, the catastrophe could mark Brazil’s deadliest ever mining accident and the country’s second iron ore mining disaster in recent years.

Brazil’s Vale knew of risk to area hit by deadly mine disaster: Folha de S.Paulo (Reuters U.S. – February 1, 2019)

February 1, 2019

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.

Brazil’s Costly Mining Failures Tied to Cheap Waste Storage – by Laura Millan Lombrana (Bloomberg News – January 31, 2019)

February 1, 2019

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.

Anger persists after Vale vows to make amends for Brazil dam disaster – by Gram Slattery (Reuters U.S. – January 31, 2019)

January 31, 2019

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.