World\u2019s largest miner BHP (ASX, NYSE: BHP) is facing a $5 billion lawsuit in England, which claims the company was \u201cwoefully negligent\u201d in the run-up to the 2015 Samarco dam failure in Brazil, the country\u2019s worst environmental disaster.<\/p>\n
The suit, filed by\u00a0law firm SPG Law, was served to BHP on behalf of 235,000 Brazilian individuals and organizations, including municipal governments, utility companies, indigenous tribes and the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n
The group action suit describes in detail a series of failures and errors of judgment over several years leading to the disaster, including how\u00a0the company\u00a0was aware of escalating safety concerns surrounding the dam\u2019s integrity and how it failed to act upon repeated warnings from independent experts and dam safety advisers regarding recommended safety improvements.<\/p>\n \u201cDriven by concern for declining revenues amidst the falling market price of iron ore, the company took risks, increased production and turned a blind eye to dangers that ultimately claimed lives and destroyed communities,\u201d Tom Goodhead, Partner at SPG Law,\u00a0said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n He added the claim will be largest group action to be heard in England.<\/p>\n The collapse of the Fundao tailings dam in 2015, owned by the Samarco joint venture between BHP and Brazil\u2019s iron ore giant Vale (NYSE:VALE), killed 19 and left a trail of destruction for hundreds of kilometres\u00a0in Minas Gerais and Esp\u00edrito Santo States, reaching the Atlantic Ocean<\/a>, 600 kilometres away.<\/p>\n Samarco, which was once the world\u2019s second-largest iron-ore pellet operation, has been shuttered ever since.<\/p>\n The post BHP hit by $5 billion suit over 2015 dam failure un Brazil<\/a> appeared first on MINING.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The group action suit describes in detail a series of failures and errors of judgment over several years leading to the collapse of the Fundao tailings dam in 2015, owned by the Samarco joint venture between BHP and Vale.<\/p>\n The post BHP hit by $5 billion suit over 2015 dam failure un Brazil<\/a> appeared first on 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will be largest group action to be heard in England.<\/q><\/p>\n