BHP accused of ‘avoiding’ blame for Brazil’s Mariana dam collapse as Supreme Court case begins

Yesterday, a £36 billion case against BHP began at the High Court in London over Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.

More than 600,000 claimants have sued the Australian mining giant over the 2015 Mariana Dam collapse, in one of the largest class action cases in English legal history.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs accused BHP, the world’s largest miner, of “cynically” trying to avoid responsibility for the disaster.

The collapse in southeastern Brazil of the dam, owned by a joint venture between BHP and Brazilian company Vale, caused a wave of toxic mining waste that killed 19 people and left thousands homeless.

Forests were flooded, villages were destroyed and the Doce River was polluted during the disaster.

Law firm Pogust Goodhead is representing the claimants, which also include 46 local authorities and around 2,000 businesses.

In court filings, plaintiffs’ lawyers said “there is a gap between what BHP considers ‘acceptable’ and the damages to which plaintiffs believe they are legally and morally entitled.”

They argued that BHP’s actions in fighting the case and funding separate lawsuits in Brazil showed the miner was “cynically and persistently trying” to avoid responsibility.

BHP disputes liability and says the London lawsuit copies legal proceedings and compensation programs in Brazil.

It claims it did not own or operate the dam, which contained mine waste known as tailings.

It said a Brazilian subsidiary of the Australian holding company was a 50 percent shareholder in the Samarco joint venture, which operated independently.

The miner also said he was unaware the dam’s stability had been compromised before it collapsed.

Lawyers representing BHP said: ‘There is no law or contract that imposes any security duty on the ultimate parent of a non-controlling shareholder and on the other parent in the same corporate group.

‘There was also no breach of such a security duty. Nor did BHP’s actions or omissions cause the collapse.’

Since 2016, it has already paid out around £6 billion to those affected by the disaster.

The hearing at London’s High Court will last twelve weeks and will assess whether BHP is liable to the claimants under Brazilian environmental law.