BHP cannot appeal against a UK ruling that it is liable for the 2015 collapse of a dam in south-eastern Brazil, London’s court of appeal has ruled in a case potentially worth billions of dollars, Australian Associated Press reports.
In November, London’s high court ruled BHP was responsible under Brazilian law for the collapse of the Fundao dam in Mariana, south-eastern Brazil, which was owned and operated by Samarco, a joint venture between Australia-headquartered BHP and Brazilian company Vale.
BHP’s application for permission to appeal was refused at the court of appeal in London overnight, saying there was “ample evidence” to justify the high court’s findings.
Brazil’s worst environmental disaster unleashed a wave of toxic sludge that killed 19 people, left thousands homeless, flooded forests and polluted the length of the Doce River.
At the London trial that started in 2024, lawyers representing hundreds of thousands of Brazilians and other claimants accused BHP, the world’s biggest miner by market value, of trying to avoid responsibility.
BHP, however, argued the lawsuit duplicated legal proceedings and reparation and repair programs in Brazil. In the trial’s first week, Brazil signed a 170bn reais ($A48bnn) compensation deal with BHP, Vale and Samarco.
BHP said it was confident that work done since 2015 and the agreement with Brazil “provide the quickest and most efficient solution” to compensate those affected by the dam failure.
It also said about 240,000 claimants, representing roughly 40% of the claimant class, had received compensation in Brazil meaning their claim will be discontinued.
Pogust Goodhead, the law firm representing the claimants, called the appeal decision “a further victory” for the victims and “a major setback” for BHP.
The initial stage of the case was to determine whether BHP was liable to the claimants, with a further trial to decide on any damages to be paid expected to begin in April 2027.
Comment