Brazilian miner Vale signed a R$37.7 billion (US$6.8 billion) agreement with the state of Minas Gerais, the public defender of the state of Minas Gerais and the federal and the state of Minas Gerais public prosecutors offices, to repair the environmental and social damage from dam collapse on January 25, 2019, in Brumadinho, that killed more than 270 people and devastated the surrounding communities.
The settlement includes projects for the affected communities, a program of income transfer to the affected population, which would replace the current emergency aid, and projects for Brumadinho and other municipalities of the Paraopeba Basin. It also includes an addition to resources for the government of the Minas Gerais to carry out the Urban Mobility Program and the Public Service Strengthening Program.
The settlement establishes the guidelines and the governance for the execution, by Vale, of the reparation plan, as well as projects to be implemented as compensation for the environmental damage already known and projects aimed at water security in the impacted region.
“Vale is committed to fully repair and compensate the damage caused by the tragedy in Brumadinho and to increasingly contribute to the improvement and development of the communities in which we operate,” Vale CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo said. “We trust that this global settlement is an important step in that direction.”
The company said it has already paid more than R$2.4 billion (US$441 million) in indemnities. In all, 8,900 people have already signed indemnity agreements with Vale, through labor courts and civil indemnities.