Samarco dam disaster claim against BHP opens in UK court

A court will decide if a $9bn claim accusing BHP of negligence before the deadly Samarco dam collapse is heard in Britain.

The aftermath of the 2015 dam collapse in the village of Bento Rodrigues in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. Picture: AFP

A court case will open in Manchester on Wednesday night (AEST) on behalf of more than 200,000 Brazilians, who are suing BHP for up to £5 billion ($A8.9bn) over the Samarco dam disaster.

The giant mining company is accused of neglecting safety warnings and of ignoring early signs of rupture to the Fundao dam, which held iron ore mining waste. The collapse of the dam near Mariana in Minas Gerais province in 2015 killed 19 people and caused an environmental disaster.

PGMBM, a London-based law firm, said that it was acting on behalf of “over 200,000 individuals, 25 Brazilian municipal governments, 530 businesses, a Catholic archdiocese and members of the Krenak indigenous community” who were affected.

The dam was operated by Samarco, a joint venture between BHP and Vale, the Brazilian iron ore miner. It is alleged that BHP is responsible for the collapse because, through Samarco, it increased production and tailings storage.

An eight-day hearing will determine whether the case can be heard in Britain. PGMBM argues that it can because BHP has headquarters in London and because litigation over environmental disasters in Brazil is “extremely inefficient”.

A BHP spokesman said that “the proceedings do not belong in the UK. This action is based on Brazilian law and duplicates matters which are  . . . the subject of legal proceedings in Brazil.”

The Times