Special investigation published in partnership with Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), one of the main investigative journalism references in the world. Read the excerpt of the story and the full text in the link below:
Angelica Andrade will never forget January 25, 2019, the day her sister died.
Natalia Andrade was among 270 people killed when a dam collapsed at a project run by mining giant Vale in Brazil’s southeast, sending a wave of mud and water sweeping through the nearby city of Brumadinho. Eleven bodies have still not been recovered.
“My sister Natalia worked in the Vale administration, [where she] started as an intern. We were proud to work at Vale,” said Angelica. “Everyone who was born and raised in Brumadinho dreamt of working for Vale.”
It was a dream for good reason: Vale is one of the largest miners on the planet, with operations in dozens of countries on five continents. In 2018 it generated US$36.5 billion in net revenues.
In Vale’s home country of Brazil, many of its operations are in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, which is home to 40 of the 100 largest mines in the country and where more than half of the country’s metal output is dug up.
But Vale has a deadly history in the state. In November 2015, another dam on a joint venture the company was running with BHP Billiton collapsed near the city of Mariana, killing 19 people and causing the biggest ecological disaster in Brazil’s history.
Coming just over three years later, the tragedy in Brumadinho shook the country. Despite pledging it would never let a disaster like Mariana happen again, Vale is now facing several investigations by police, and both federal and state lawmakers.
Behind Vale’s Deadly Dams, a Wave of Lobbying (full story)
Uma versão da matéria também foi publicada em português em duas partes pela Mongabay, aqui e aqui.
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