The dam, owned by Samarco – controlled by Vale and BHP – burst, releasing 39.2 million cubic meters of tailings waste in the Rio Doce Basin, killing 19 people. It was considered Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.
Samarco’s gradual restart of operations incorporates concentrator 3 at the Germano complex and pelletising plant 4 at Ubu, as well as a new system of tailings disposal combining a confined pit and tailings filtering system for dry stacking. The company expects initially to produce approximately eight million tonnes of iron ore pellets per annum.
According to the company, a second concentrator can be restarted in approximately 6 years to reach a production rate of approximately 14-16 million tonnes.
Samarco said it is committed to remediate and compensate the victims and that up to September 2020, over $1.9 billion had been allocated as compensation.
