Vale earmarks $486 mi for environmental recovery in Minas Gerais
Mining giant Vale Wednesday (Jun 26) announced it will earmark a total of $468 million up to 2023 for environmental recovery and waste removal in the area affected by the disaster in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state, and to ensure the safety of the remaining facilities at the Córrego do Feijão mine. Five months ago, a dam collapse left 200 killed and polluted the Paraopeba river.
Efforts to bolster the stability of the remaining units at the mine are underway, the mining firm declared. The measures to curb waste have been submitted to public authorities and are also in progress. Interventions have been split into three sections.
Employment generation
For the first ten kilometers, from the dam to the spot where the waste reached Paraopeba river, 23 actions will aim to curb the ongoing wave of mud. Firefighters have been monitoring the progress of the interventions. “Efforts include bringing 28 firms and generating an estimated 2.5 thousand jobs at the project’s high point. As it stands today, 1.3 thousand workers are involved in the interventions, 700 of them in the Brumadinho region,” Vale reported.
After the dam collapse, the leaked waste reached first the Ferro-Carvão stream, then Paraopeba river. This is where the thickest mud is located. “Some 6 to 7 million cubic meters of the material are there,” the firm declared. Thus far, some 550 thousand cubic meters of waste have been removed. The amount will be deposited in an area inside the Córrego do Feijão mine, as allowed by relevant environmental agencies.
Also in this section, 15 small structures will be raised for holding the mud, among them filtering hydraulic barriers, to help reduce water speed and stop thicker sediment in the waste. A reservoir with a 750 million–liter capacity is also being prepared. The mud is expected to gather at the bottom, and the water to become less turbid. Vale further stated the structures may be disassembled as soon as they no longer have a purpose.
São Francisco river
Paraopeba river has been monitored daily at 66 spots, and 1.4 million tests have been conducted on the water, sediment, and waste, Vale reported. Early this month, the company said the spring can be restored. The area with the highest level of turbidity is 40 kilometers away from the collapsed dam. The firm also declared that surface sediment has not reached the Três Marias hydroelectric plant, where Paraopeba and São Francisco rivers meet.
Last month, the Minas Gerais Water Institute, linked to the state’s Secretariat for Environment and Sustainable Development denied that the waste reached São Francisco river, one of Brazil’s biggest. The conclusion was drawn after an expedition enabled experts to collect 4 thousand data and samples in the region affected by the tragedy.
On the other hand, late in March, NGO Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica reached a different conclusion. The foundation also presented a specialized with all data collected from samples. Iron, manganese, chromium, and copper have been reported above the maximum levels allowed under the law and show the impact of surface sediment on São Francisco river.
Water should still not be consumed on the affected section, and fishing has been indefinitely banned.
