UK court finds mining firm liable for Brazil dam collapse

A British judge has ruled that the BHP mining giant is legally responsible for the 2015 collapse of a dam in Brazil, a disaster that killed 19 people. The incident also caused one of the worst environmental catastrophes

Britain's High Court has ruled that mining giant BHP is legally responsible for the 2015 collapse of the Fundao dam in Mariana, Brazil.

The ruling in London could result in much higher payouts to victims who argued that domestic compensation was too slow, inadequate or inconsistent.

What was the court's ruling on BHP?

Judge Finola O'Farrell found that BHP was "strictly liable for the environmental damage and harm to third parties" under Brazilian law.

She wrote that BHP, headquartered in Australia, bore responsibility even though it did not directly operate the dam at the time.

BHP's Brazilian subsidiary co-owned the dam with Brazilian mining giant Vale, but it was operated by the separately created company Samarco.

Judge Finola O'Farrell ruled the company had acted negligently by ignoring engineering warnings, failing to carry out recommended safety work and allowing the dam to be raised even as its waste became dangerously water-saturated.

The ruling found the risk of the dam's collapse was "foreseeable."

"BHP's control of Samarco, their assumption of responsibility for risk assessment, management and control of the tailings dam, and their full participation in the tailings dam operations, gave rise to a legal duty to avoid harm caused by any act or omission that was negligent, imprudent or lacking in skill."What did the parties say about the Mariana dam case?

Law firm Pogust Goodhead, representing more than 620,000 Brazilian claimants, called the ruling a "historic precedent for international corporate accountability." Claimants are seeking up to 36 billion UK pounds (€40.7 billion, $47.3 billion) in damages from BHP and Vale, the co-owners of Samarco.

BHP confirmed the ruling in a statement but said it intends to appeal, arguing that the UK lawsuit duplicates compensation mechanisms already underway in Brazil.

What damage was caused by the Brazil dam collapse?

The collapse on November 5, 2015, released around 40 million cubic meters of mining waste — enough to fill 13,000 Olympic swimming pools. It swept away entire communities, destroying the village of Bento Rodrigues, killing freshwater ecosystems and damaging 600 kilometers of the Doce River.

The Krenak Indigenous people consider the river a sacred entity, and scientists say it has yet to recover.

Why did a UK court hear the case?

Claimants turned to UK courts after arguing that compensation programs in Brazil were insufficient.

Last year, the Brazilian government announced a separate settlement worth 170 billion reais (€27.61 billion, $32.08 billion), with around 250,000 people already receiving payouts. Another deal reached in 2024 requires Samarco, owned jointly by Vale and BHP, to pay 132 billion reais over 20 years for environmental, human and infrastructure damage.

Edited by Sean Sinico