Mining giant Vale denies previous knowledge of risk in ruptured dam

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Mining giant Vale denied having previous knowledge of any collapse risk with its collapsed tailings dam in Brazil on Tuesday.

In a press conference held in Vale's headquarters in Rio, the company denied risk of collapse in the Brumadinho dam showed by some reports in 2017. According to Vale execs, the Brumadinho dam was stable then.

The dam, located in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil, collapsed on Jan. 25, killing hundreds of people.

In the past few days, Brazilian media outlets ran stories stating that Vale knew that the dam was at risk and did nothing to prevent the rupture, which caused a wave of muddy iron ore mining waste to go down the valley, destroying residential neighborhoods and Vale buildings at the mining complex.

News website G1 ran a story stating that two reports, one from 2017 and another from 2018, affirmed the risk of collapse of the Brumadinho dam was twice higher than the maximum tolerable risk.

In addition, Rio-based daily O Dia stated that Vale used obsolete monitoring equipment in the dam, and that if more modern equipment could have been used to give a warning, more people could be survived.

So far, 165 bodies have been retrieved from the affected area and 155 people remain missing.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Conference and Exhibition 2018 Was held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin in October 18-20, 2018. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us. For more information about CHINA MINING 2018, please visit: m.balanzskin.com.

Baidu
map