UK Court Holds BHP Accountable for Brazil's Devastating Dam Disaster

Fri Nov 14 2025 21:05:58 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A landmark ruling by London's High Court finds mining giant BHP responsible for the 2015 dam collapse in Brazil, a disaster that resulted in 19 fatalities and significant ecological damage.

The High Court in London has ruled that BHP is liable for a catastrophic dam collapse in Brazil in 2015, which led to the worst environmental disaster in the country’s history. The incident resulted in 19 deaths and extensive pollution. BHP plans to appeal the verdict amidst ongoing legal battles involving compensation claims that have drawn in hundreds of thousands of plaintiffs.

Mining company BHP has been found liable for a 2015 dam collapse in Brazil, known as the country's worst-ever environmental disaster, by London's High Court.

The dam collapse killed 19 people, polluted the river and destroyed hundreds of homes.

The civil lawsuit, representing more than 600,000 people including civilians, local governments, and businesses, had been valued at up to £36bn ($48bn).

BHP said it would appeal against the ruling and continue to fight the lawsuit, claiming that many claimants in the London lawsuit had already been compensated in Brazil.

The dam in Mariana, southeastern Brazil, was owned by Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP.

The claimants' lawyers argued successfully that the trial should be held in London because BHP's headquarters were in the UK at the time of the dam collapse.

A separate claim against Samarco's second parent company, Brazilian mining company Vale, was filed in the Netherlands, with more than 70,000 plaintiffs.

The dam was used to store waste from iron ore mining. When it burst, it unleashed tens of millions of cubic metres of toxic waste and mud, sweeping through communities, destroying homes, and poisoning the river.

Judge Finola O'Farrell stated that the unsafe practice of raising the dam's height was the direct cause of its collapse, thus establishing BHP's liability under Brazilian law.

BHP plans to appeal the ruling. President of BHP's Minerals Americas, Brandon Craig, remarked that 240,000 claimants in the London lawsuit had already received compensation in Brazil, which he suggested would reduce the claims' value in the UK.

The lawsuit has seen various clashes between the UK firm representing the claimants, Pogust Goodhead, and BHP. BHP consistently denied liability, stating that the London lawsuit duplicates efforts already underway in Brazil.

In addition to the relief efforts through the Renova Foundation, which was established by BHP and Vale, to compensate victims, Pogust Goodhead alleged that the companies pressured claimants into settling at undervalued claims.

BHP has dismissed Pogust Goodhead's allegations about misleading claimants as baseless, emphasizing that they intend to contest these claims vigorously.