BHP faces $1bn clean up bill for Brazil dam burst

Missing personnel were working on raising the height of one of the dams at the time of the collapse
Missing personnel were working on raising the height of one of the dams at the time of the collapse
REUTERS

BHP Billiton faces a $1 billion clean-up operation after what looks likely to be the worst industrial disaster to involve a British company in a generation.

The collapse of two tailings dams at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil led to a nearby village being swamped by a 20-metre wave of muddy waste.

Two people have been confirmed dead, with another 25 unaccounted for, 13 of them workers. The provincial governor said that there was little hope of finding them alive.

Analysts said yesterday that the total cost was likely to run into billions when rebuilding the dam, cleaning up the spill and lost earnings were taken into account.

BHP, the world’s largest mining company, owns half of Samarco alongside Vale, the Brazilian group