The Brumadinho disaster remains one of the greatest mining tragedies in recent years, with a death toll in the hundreds and total damages in the billions of dollars. The fallout of the accident has been equally dramatic, with Vale trying to make amends for the damage for over three years now, and questions being raised across the mining industry regarding the safeguards being put in place at some of the industry’s biggest operations.
Recently, a new wrinkle was added to the Brumadinho story. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Vale, alleging that it knew of potential safety breaches at its mines prior to the dam, and that they contributed to the scale of the ultimate disaster. The involvement of a foreign government office – and one focused on trade, rather than humanitarian causes – is an unexpected step, and could set a new precedent for actors working with such disasters, where a greater range of companies and organisations feel obliged to get involved in some of the mining industry’s biggest incidents.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Elsewhere, we consider the present and future of some of the world’s most in-demand commodities, from gold and nickel to critical minerals aligned with various national interests. With resources becoming increasingly scarce, but demand for them higher than ever, what can the world’s miners do to balance the forces of supply and demand as they continue to pull in opposite directions?
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In this issue
A diplomatic incident: inside the US lawsuit against Vale over Brumadinho
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The US Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a lawsuit against Vale. Giles Crosse asks if this could this set a precedent for the international mining industry?
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