The death toll from two collapsed dams at a major Brazilian mine will surely rise in coming days, a local mayor said on Saturday, while search and rescue teams worked to reach villages more than 50 miles downstream overrun by the massive mudflow.
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The Civil Defense agency of Minas Gerais state told The Associated Press that only one body had been recovered but officials have yet to officially determine how many people were missing.
City officials released a partial list of missing people, including three children, aged four to seven, and a 60-year-old woman from the village, which was swamped by mudslides within a half hour of public warnings.
The mining company operating the dam later said that two dams had in fact failed.
BHP Chief Executive Andrew MacKenzie held a news conference in Melbourne to address the unfolding crisis, calling it a “tragic incident”.
Only two people were confirmed to have been killed in the accident, which sent a few 62 million cubic meters of water and iron ore leftovers flooding into the village, which is located a few 4 miles (7 kilometers) downhill from the mine, officials said Friday.
“We would like to express our solidarity to all affected by this accident at Samarco’s tailings dams in the state of Minas Gerais”, said Murilo Ferreira, CEO and president of Vale.
Both Vale and BHP Billiton have issued statements expressing their sympathy and commitment to working with Samarco and local authorities to identify the cause.
According to BofAML, “Vale’s Brazilian blend premium has recently declined to US$1.5/t from US$3-4/t, pellet premiums remain pressured at close to US$14/t and lump premiums are settling around $5c/dmtu”.
“The collapse paralyzed operations at the mine, a joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton, the world’s top iron ore miners and raised fears of an expensive cleanup”, said Reuters. “We were told it wouldn’t be so bad”.
Samarco has not said when the mine, which produces around 30 tons of iron ore a year, is likely to re-open. BHP shares fell by up to 5.4 per cent on the local bourse on Friday and more than 4 per cent in London as investors fretted about the damage.
The dam contained tailings, a mining waste product of metal fillings, water and sometimes chemicals.
Samarco denied that the mudslide residues were toxic and described them as residues “mostly” composed of silicon, a mineral used in processing iron, and which “contain no chemical element injurious to health”.
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“When I went outside, there were already people running uphill saying the dam burst, ” recalled resident Joaquim Dutra. There, it’s turned into pellets and then shipped to customers.
