How did the fundao dam collapse?

How did the fundao dam collapse?

The Mariana dam disaster, also known as the Bento Rodrigues or Samarco dam disaster, occurred on 5 November 2015, when the Fundão tailings dam at the Germano iron ore mine of the Samarco Mariana Mining Complex near Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil, suffered a catastrophic failure, resulting in flooding that devastated the …

What happened Samarco?

When the Fundão tailings dam at the Samarco mine collapsed at around 15:30 on 5 November 2015, millions of cubic meters of mine waste spilled out. The ensuing toxic mudflow killed 20 people. The villages of Bento Rodrigues, Paracatu de Baixo and Gesteira were destroyed. Over 600km of the river basin was polluted.

What are mine dumps?

The term ‘mine dump’ is usually used to refer to waste that is consequential to mining operations and comprises of tailing, slimes, waste rock, sand or other residue that is produced during the course of conducting mining operations.

What happened to the Rio Doce?

For the indigenous Krenak community, which lives on a hill between a dry streambed and the polluted Rio Doce, the disaster did more than destroy their water supply. “Watu” is the Krenak name for the waterway, meaning “sacred river.” The Krenak cacique, or chief, Geovany Krenak, says that the waterway is intimately connected to his people.

What’s happening to people living along Brazil’s Doce River?

Eight months after a mining dam collapsed in southeastern Brazil, the 1.6 million people living along the Doce River are still struggling not only with health risks, but also with a crisis of public confidence. “I was making ice cream, and didn’t hear the noise,” recalls Neuza da Silva Santos.

How much did the Samarco dam collapse cost?

The mining industry accounts for more than $1.4 billion (1.23 billion euros) in the city of Mariana, where the disaster occurred. According to a report by Brazilian daily “Folha de São Paolo,” Samarco was attempting to quintuple the size of the Fundão waste reservoir by connecting two different tailing dams when the collapse happened.