On Monday, July 15, Vale entered into an agreement with the labor court of Betim in Brazil and the Minas Gerais State Public Ministry of Labor to pay R$400 million (US$106.7 million) in damages to those affected by the Brumadinho tailings dam failure that occurred in January. The dam burst left 247 people dead and 23 are still missing.
The victim’s relatives of the dam breach of the Córrego do Feijão Mine can register to receive compensation, starting with individual payments. According to the agreement, parents, spouses or partners and children of deceased employees will receive R$500,000 (US$36,139) for moral damages. Siblings will receive R$150,000 (US$10,841).
Accident insurance will be paid, as well as allowance for childcare, education assistance and medical insurance, the company said in a statement.
The agreement also provides job stability to its direct and third-party employees of the Córrego do Feijão mine on the day of the breach, and survivors who were working at the time of the breach, for three years beginning January 25, and can be converted into monetary compensation, Vale said.
Vale will deposit the total amount for moral damages on August 6. The previously frozen amount of R$1.6 billion (US$427 million), which was set aside to pay for damages, will be unfrozen, the company said.
The company said around 100,000 residents in the Brumadinho region have already received emergency compensation.
Earlier this month, a court found Vale responsible for the disaster and ordered it to pay for all damages related to the tragedy. The judge did not set an exact amount at that time.