"Environmental damage in Brazil: heavy fine for Vallourec", 11 January 2022

...The French group Vallourec was fined 288 million reais (around 45 million euros) for "environmental damage", three days after the overflow of a mining dam.

The government of the state of Minas Gerais (south-east) said in a statement to have "notified Vallourec of the environmental damage caused by the overflow of a sediment containment dike from the Pau Branco mine", located in Nova Lima, in the suburbs of Belo Horizonte.

This notification also provides for "the suspension of activities (of the dam) until the presentation of documents attesting to its stability"...

The tons of mud which had flowed from the dike caused the interruption of the traffic of the highway BR-40, which connects Belo Horizonte to Rio de Janeiro, for two days.

In a press release sent to AFP, Vallourec "confirmed having received the notification of the fine, which is being analyzed by its technical team".

According to the government of Minas Gerais, the French pipe manufacturer is "repeat offender": another fine was imposed on it in 2020, "for failure to meet deadlines in sending documents about dikes"...

All mine operators in the region were ordered Tuesday to provide detailed data on the stability of their dams within 24 hours and residents of some localities began to be evacuated facing the risk of possible ruptures...