Brazilian prosecutors said on Thursday they charged 22 people, 21 of them for qualified homicide, for their roles in the collapse of a tailings dam at the Samarco iron ore mine last November that killed 19 people.

Executives of the company, owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton, had clear awareness that the dam could fail but put profit over safety, prosecutors told a press conference in Belo Horizonte that was broadcast live by GloboNews. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO — Prosecutors charged 21 Brazilian and foreign mining executives with manslaughter and various environmental crimes Thursday, nearly a year after a mine dam burst killed 19 people and polluted hundreds of miles of rivers and streams.

The Attorney General's Office in the state of Minas Gerais said those charged are mostly Brazilians and also include American, Australian and British board members and directors at the Brazilian mining companies Samarco and Vale, and Australia's BHP Billiton.

Samarco is a joint venture of the two larger companies. Former CEO Ricardo Vescovi, current COO Kleber Luiz de Mendonca and others are accused of causing what many call South American nation's worst environmental disaster. All three companies issued statements denying the charges.

Federal prosecutor Jose Adercio Leite Sampaio alleged that experts told executives, board members and other company officials that the basin of mine dump could burst, but they chose to ignore the danger and continue extracting from the rich iron ore deposit to compensate for falling commodities prices.

"They deliberately prioritized money over safety," Sampaio said in a news conference. "They knew there were problems and did not make the decisions that could have improved safety."

When the dam ruptured it flooded the area with some 40 million cubic meters of waste, and prosecutors also filed environmental charges related to the death of animal life.

Prosecutors said they found an internal company document from the breach that estimated such an accident could cause 20 deaths and serious environmental damage and interrupt business for up to two years.

In a statement, Samarco, which is also appealing seven fines handed down by the Environment Ministry, insisted the companies did not know the dam was in danger of collapsing.

It argued that the Attorney General's Office disregarded evidence and testimony "proving the company had no prior knowledge of risks to its structure."

Vale also said its executives at Samarco were never informed of anomalies that "could present real risks" in the basin and promised to prove their innocence in court.

BHP Billiton rejected the charges and said it would "fully support each of the affected individuals in their ."

The companies also face a class-action lawsuit seeking $43 billion in social, environmental and economic damages. Prosecutors said they arrived at that amount by comparing it to the cost of repairing damage from BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. </s> The charges follow what is now considered to be the largest environmental disaster in Brazil's history. The dam collapse 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.

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

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

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. The former chief executive of Samarco, Ricardo Viscovi, is among the accused.

Under Brazil's criminal code, qualified homicide is homicide aggravated by certain factors.

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 kilometers before reaching the Atlantic ocean.

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," Eduardo Santos de Oliveira, one of the prosecutors in the case, said of those who died.

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. </s> RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Samarco and parent companies Vale VALE5.SA and BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) signed a deal with Brazilian authorities that settles a 20 billion real ($5.30 billion) lawsuit related to a 2015 dam burst that killed 19 people, Vale said on Monday.

The agreement, signed by prosecutors from the federal government and the states of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo, mandates improvements in governance for the Renova Foundation, created to help victims of the accident, Vale said. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Millions of tonnes of waste were released in the dam's collapse

Brazilian prosecutors have filed homicide charges against 21 people a year after an iron ore mine disaster in the state of Minas Gerais.

They include several Brazilians, two Americans, a South African, an Australian, a Briton and a French man.

The accused were employed at the time by the companies involved - Brazil's Samarco and Vale, and BHP Billiton.

In November 2015 a mine dam burst, killing 19 people and polluting miles of Brazil's waterways.

According to the lead prosecutor in the case, Jose Leite Sampaio, the companies were aware there was a risk of collapse but ignored it. They immediately rejected the charges and said they would defend their staff.

Mr Sampaio accused Brazilian mining company Vale, Anglo-Australian giant BHP Billiton and iron ore producer Samarco, which they co-own, of pursuing profits rather than attending to safety.

"Security was always of secondary importance. The increase in production at Samarco sought to compensate for the falling value of the ore in order, not only to maintain, but also to boost profits and dividends," Mr Sampaio said in a televised news conference near the site of the disaster.

Support for accused

Vale said in a statement that it "vehemently rejects the charges" and that it would defend its staff members. It said the evidence showed there was no knowledge the dam could fail before the collapse.

BHP said it "rejects outright the charges against the company and the affected individuals. We will defend the charges against the company, and fully support each of the affected individuals in their defence."

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

Image copyright AFP Image caption Horses, mules and dogs got stuck in the mud, which travelled miles downstream

Millions of tonnes of muddy mine waste were released on 5 November 2015 when a dam collapsed. A village was flattened and drinking water was affected for hundreds of thousands of people. The sludge eventually pooled out into the Atlantic Ocean.

The disaster drew comparisons with the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, as the Brazilian authorities sought redress for the environmental devastation from the companies it deemed responsible.

Analysis: Daniel Gallas, South America Business Correspondent, Rio de Janeiro

The mining companies have managed to reach a deal with Brazil's environmental authorities to set up an institute that will help clean up the pollution and rebuild some communities for the next 10 years.

But prosecutors tasked with finding the guilty parties are less willing to compromise.

In a 273-page document, they blamed top managers, accusing them of merely using "bandages" to deal with a serious threat.

Prosecutors also want the accused to respond to a popular jury, assuming these charges get the go-ahead from the judge.

The companies responded by accusing prosecutors of ignoring the evidence against those claims.

As the Samarco tragedy approaches its first anniversary, it seems that this case will still drag on for years to come.

The accused include Ricardo Vescovi, who was chief executive of Samarco at the time of the disaster.

Under Brazilian law qualified homicide is similar to, but more serious than, a manslaughter charge. The accused, if found guilty, could face sentences of up to 54 years. </s> BHP Billiton has reached a deal with prosecutors in Brazil that will put a two-year pause on compensation claims arising from the Samarco mining disaster of 2015 that left 19 people dead.

The agreement means the FTSE 100 mining giant will escape an imminent fine and could pave the way for the iron ore mine’s eventual restart.

Under the deal the Brazilian government and state and federal prosecutors will roll their competing claims into one definitive settlement that will cover compensation to victims’ families as well as extensive remediation work in the affected area.

In November 2015 two villages were destroyed when a dam at the mine co-owned by BHP and Brazilian company Vale burst, sending... </s> MELBOURNE (dpa-AFX) - Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton plc (BHP.AX, BLT.L, BBL, BHP) has rejected criminal charges by Brazilian prosecutors filed against the company and its current and former employees in relation to last year's fatal Samarco dam disaster, which killed 19 people.



BHP Billiton Brasil said it will defend the charges against the company, and fully support each of the Affected Individuals in their defence of the charges against them.



BHP Billiton Brasil said, 'We are yet to receive formal notification of these proceedings.'



Brazilian prosecutors have charged 26 people in connection with the Samarco mine disaster. Of those charged, 21 have been accused of qualified homicide. They include several Brazilians, two Americans, a South African, an Australian, a Briton and a French man. The accused were employed at the time by the companies involved - Brazil's Samarco and Vale, and BHP Billiton.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX </s> SÃO PAULO -- Brazilian police arrested eight employees of mining giant Vale SA on suspicion of murder after a judge found evidence suggesting they had known for months about significant safety problems at one of its dams before it burst last month, killing more than 160 people.

The dam's auditors considered falsifying results of a safety inspection out of fear that Vale would cancel or alter another contract between the two companies if they failed to declare the dam safe, according to prosecutors cited by the judge in the arrest warrant. The Vale employees arrested were directly responsible for the mine. Some knew the problems there were so serious that the dam was likely not to pass the safety inspection, according to the judge, citing comments from the auditors' email correspondence as well as testimony from other people questioned in the probe.

The judge also cited instances in which other employees at the mine noticed problems at the dam and even pleaded with their superiors to evacuate the site.

The eight Vale employees were brought in for questioning Friday and haven't been charged with a crime. The arrest warrants are valid for 30 days, according to the police. Lawyers for those arrested didn't respond to requests for comment.

The fresh round of arrests, which is based on evidence prosecutors say show that the officials were aware of problems at the dam long before it burst, and the court documents released in conjunction with them, significantly heighten scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest between Vale and the Brazilian unit of German certification giant TÜV SÜD, which had been hired to provide what was supposed to be an independent audit of the safety of the dam in the town of Brumadinho.

As recently as September, the contracted firm found the dam stable, despite identifying a number of safety issues that outside engineering experts said should have raised red flags, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The Brumadinho dam's collapse last month came only three years after another dam, owned by Vale and BHP Group at their joint Samarco operations, burst about 80 miles away in the town of Mariana, killing 19 people. After that tragedy, in November 2015, Vale's management vowed to take every precaution necessary to make sure none of its other dams would fail, adopting the company slogan "Mariana, never again."

Separately on Friday, Brazil's mining regulator said it was investigating the independence of external auditors and the methods miners use to audit their dams. That probe came in response to an earlier request from the government of Minas Gerais, the Brazilian state where both burst mines are located, after the Journal reported the dam's auditor had other business dealings with Vale, raising a potential conflict of interest.

Studies that TÜV SÜD conducted as part of a previous audit in early 2018 indicated the dam wasn't stable, according to the arrest warrant issued Friday. The warrant describes an internal email exchange among TÜV SÜD engineers on May 13, 2018, in which they discuss how the engineers would brief Vale executives about their findings about the safety of the dam in a meeting scheduled the next day.

In the email exchange, Makoto Namba, a TÜV SÜD employee, said they would make clear to Vale the findings were so far preliminary and that they needed to be verified before the firm could decide whether to sign a certification that the dam had passed a safety inspection. But "as always Vale will put us up against the wall and ask: if it doesn't pass, will you sign it or not?" Mr. Namba wrote, according to a part of the email published in the arrest warrant.

TÜV SÜD certified the stability of the Brumadinho dam in a June document. The firm has declined to address questions related to conflicts of interest, saying it regrets the incident and is helping authorities with their investigation. It had no comment regarding the account in Friday's arrest warrant.

Vale said it considered the arrests unnecessary, because the employees would have voluntarily given testimony and were always available to authorities for clarifications. Mr. Namba, one of two TÜV SÜD employees detained and then released, wasn't immediately available for comment.

According to the same email, prosecutors said, Mr. Namba wrote that a Vale employee had called to ask about the dam audit. He wrote the Vale employee knew about the possibility the dam might fail its inspection, according to part of the email quoted in the arrest warrant.

Prosecutors said emails exchanged between TÜV SÜD engineers after Mr. Namba's first message suggested the possibility of them masking the negative results TÜV SÜD found. One engineer said there was a risk that Vale could use a separate contract the company had with TÜV SÜD to get a pass on the audit.

Prosecutors have called for more arrests of TÜV SÜD employees, but the judge said there wasn't yet sufficient evidence against them.

In Friday's arrest warrant, the judge also cited the testimony of a Vale employee who said his father, Olavo Coelho, worked at the mine for 35 years and became the "go-to guy" among the site's top management. He was killed in the tragedy.

In the middle of last year, according to his son's testimony, three of Mr. Coelho's bosses called for his help because mud was spouting from the side of the dam. His father told them to have the whole mine evacuated because he believed it to be beyond repair. According to his son, his superiors told him they couldn't evacuate the sitedo so because "there are too many people and jobs involved."

He said his father later told him: "Son, since you work near the dam, don't go to the part beneath it, and if you hear a loud noise, run toward the buildings because at any moment that thing is going to burst."

Police have been probing what Vale knew about the dam's safety before the Jan. 25 collapse. Apart from the 166 people confirmed dead, rescue efforts continue for 144 others missing in the disaster.

Four days after the burst, police arrested three other Vale employees as well as two TÜV SÜD employees who had signed the June and September safety reports. The dam passed the latest inspection in September, but inspectors found significant safety issues, including drainage problems and faulty equipment. The five were later released.

A person familiar with TÜV SÜD's thinking said the one-page certificate given in September, called a "declaration of stability condition," is a snapshot of the dam's safety at the time it is written, not a long-term guarantee of its safety.

That certificate should be taken in context with the entire report, this person said. It certified the dam as "grade B," this person said. That is the second- highest-risk category on the scale Brazilian regulators use.

The report made suggestions to address that risk, including to the drainage system, which would have needed to be followed up, the person said. Vale has previously said it had acted on all the suggestions made in the full report.

The certificate doesn't guarantee the safety of a dam against outside factors, either, such as seismic activity or large trucks being driven across it, the person familiar with TÜV SÜD's thinking said.

The tailings-dam burst released a wave of muddy mining waste that swept away nearby offices and a crowded lunchroom owned by Vale. The river of sludge also smashed into part of the town of Brumadinho, crushing residences.

Alistair MacDonald and Luciana Magalhaes contributed to this article.

Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com and Luciana Magalhaes at Luciana.Magalhaes@wsj.com </s> Samarco Mineração and its owners Vale and BHP Billiton Brasil have signed an agreement with Brazilian authorities to settle a BRL20bn ($5.30bn) lawsuit pertaining to the Samarco dam disaster that took place in 2015 in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

The agreement calls for improvements to be made in governance for the Renova Foundation, which was formed to support victims of the fatal dam accident that left at least 17 people dead.

It also places a two-year timeline for the settlement of a separate BRL155bn ($41bn) lawsuit, which will stay suspended to allow the concerned parties continue with their negotiations.

The Brazilian authorities which signed the agreement with the mining firms include the Federal and State Prosecution offices, the Federal Public Defenders’ office and the State Public Defenders’ offices of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo and the Federal Attorneys’ office and State Attorneys’ offices of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.

Additionally, the signed agreement ends relevant lawsuits, including the Public Civil Action of BRL20bn ($5.3bn), filed by the Brazilian government and the Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo governments.

Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman said: “The Agreement is important because it demonstrates a convergence of interests between the parties, Vale, BHP Brasil, Samarco, the Federal Prosecution offices, the Federal and State Attorneys’ offices and the Federal and State Public Defenders’ offices, representing a further improvement for the affected people, as it consolidates and broadens the scope of the actions that were already being implemented by the Renova Foundation.”

The agreement reached by the parties is subject to the Brazilian government signing the agreement. It is also subject to ratification by the 12th Federal Court of Minas Gerais.

The lawsuits relate to the 5 November 2015 accident when a dam constructed in Bento Rodrigues to store iron ore waste of the Samarco mine collapsed following a massive failure. As a result, flooding took place in nearby towns leading to several casualties and injuries.
Brazilian prosecutors file homicide charges against 21 people employed by the companies Samarco, Vale, and BHP Billiton for the November 2015 iron ore mine dam burst in the state of Minas Gerais that killed 19 people and polluted waterways.