Brumadinho dam collapse: 23 thousand compensation deals forged

More than 23 thousand people affected by the collapse of Vale’s dam at the Córrego do Feijão mine in Brumadinho, a town in Minas Gerais state, have reached compensation agreements with the mining company. The tragedy took place five years ago this Thursday (Jan. 25).

The data were presented by state prosecutors during a public rendering of accounts last Friday (19). At the event, an assessment was made of the three years of implementation of the reparations agreement.

The collapse of the ore tailings dam caused 270 deaths as well as large-scale environmental devastation and the destruction of communities. Relatives of the dead report 272 victims, taking into account that two women were pregnant. An agreement for reparations was signed two years later concerning collective damages. Plans included socio-economic investments, socio-environmental recovery, efforts to guarantee water security, and improvements to public services and urban mobility works.

The parties chose to keep the discussions on individual compensation parallel to the judicial and extrajudicial negotiations. In some of these talks, the people affected were joined by representatives from the state’s Public Defender’s Office. In April 2019, the institution signed an agreement with the mining giant outlining the procedures that made the individual settlements possible.

According to the Public Defender’s Office, by December 2023, 20,806 agreements had been reached under the terms of the agreement, adding up to BRL 1.3 billion. Labor indemnities also apply, as over 90 percent of the employees who died were working at the mining complex and were employed by Vale or the outsourced companies that provided services at the mine. Since then, 2,509 labor compensation deals have been inked, involving 15,400 people, with a total value of BRL 1.2 billion.

“Vale reaffirms its deep respect for the families impacted by the dam collapse and remains committed to repairing Brumadinho, prioritizing the people, the impacted communities and the environment,” the text reads.

Divergence between figures presented by Vale and those released by the Public Defender’s Office and the state prosecutors may arise because some of those affected are entitled to more than one agreement—for example in the case of individuals who have lost relatives and suffered other impacts. There is also disagreement over the sums involved. Vale claims to have allocated a total of BRL 3.5 billion in compensation.