A Brazilian court has ordered mining giant Vale (NYSE:VALE) to halt operations at its Brucutu mine, the largest mine in Minas Gerais state, following last month’s tailings dam disaster at Brumadinho, which left at least 115 dead.
The news, published by O Globo, one of the most respected Brazilian publications, follows an injunction that prohibits vale from storing tailings in the Laranjeiras dam, located in Barão de Cocais, also in Minas Gerais. according to local paper MasMinas.
It also comes the same day it came to light that Germany’s TUV SUD, the company that certified the safety of Córrego do Feijão mine’s tailing, had worked as both a consultant and an independent safety evaluator for the Vale, raising questions among experts over potential conflicts of interest.
Brucutu, which has an annual capacity of 30 million tonnes of iron ore and has been in operations for 13 years, is the second largest mine in the country, behind Vale’s Carajás.
More to come…
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