READ MORE: Mining is necessary for the green transition. Here\u2019s why experts say we need to do it better<\/a><\/p>\nSludge from the burst dam destroyed the once-bustling village of Bento Rodrigues in Minas Gerais state and badly damaged other towns. Enough mine waste to fill 13,000 Olympic-size swimming pools poured into the Doce River in southeastern Brazil, damaging 600 kilometers (370 miles) of the waterway and killing 14 tons of freshwater fish, according to a study by the University of Ulster in the U.K. The river, which the\u00a0Krenak Indigenous\u00a0people revere as a deity, has yet to recover.<\/p>\n
A decade later, legal disputes have prolonged reconstruction and reparations and the river is still contaminated with heavy metals. Even as Brazil tries to define itself as a global environmental leader while hosting the U.N.\u00a0COP30 climate summit,\u00a0advocacy groups say the dam collapse is a reminder of industry-friendly policies that have ecological protection.<\/p>\n
Victims of the disaster called the ruling a historic victory in seeking justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to cross the Atlantic Ocean and go to England to finally see a mining company held to account,\u201d said M\u00f4nica dos Santos of the Commission for Those Affected by the Fund\u00e3o Dam.<\/p>\n
Gelvana Rodrigues, whose 7-year-old son, Thiago, was killed in a mudslide, celebrated the step forward and said she wouldn\u2019t rest until those responsible are punished.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe judge\u2019s decision shows what we have been saying for the last 10 years: it was not an accident, and BHP must take responsibility for its actions,\u201d Rodrigues said.<\/p>\n
The judge agreed with lawyers representing 600,000 Brazilians and 31 communities in the class-action case who argued that BHP was heavily involved in the Samarco operation and could have prevented the disaster, but instead encouraged raising the dam to allow more production.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe risk of collapse of the dam was foreseeable,\u201d O\u2019Farrell wrote in the 222-page decision. \u201cIt is inconceivable that a decision would have been taken to continue raising the height of the dam in those circumstances and the collapse could have been averted.\u201d<\/p>\n
BHP said that it plans to appeal.<\/p>\n
The claimants are seeking 36 billion pounds ($47 billion) in compensation, though the ruling only addressed liability. A second phase of the trial will determine damages.<\/p>\n
The case was filed in Britain because one of BHP\u2019s two main legal entities was based in London at the time.<\/p>\n
The trial began in October 2024, just days before the federal government in\u00a0the South American country\u00a0reached a\u00a0multibillion-dollar settlement\u00a0with the mining companies.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, Samarco \u2014 which is also half owned by Brazilian mining giant Vale \u2014 agreed to pay 132 billion reais ($23 billion) over 20 years. The payments were meant to compensate for human, environmental and infrastructure damage.<\/p>\n
BHP had said the U.K. legal action was unnecessary, because it duplicated matters covered by legal proceedings in Brazil.<\/p>\n
The judge ruled that those who were compensated in the settlement in Brazil could still bring claims, though they might be limited by any waivers they signed.<\/p>\n
Brandon Craig, BHP\u2019s president of Minerals Americas, said that nearly half of the claimants could be eliminated from the group because of settlement agreements they signed in Brazil.<\/p>\n
BHP shares fell more than 2% on the London market after the ruling and the company said that it would update its financial provisions.<\/p>\n
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