Brazilian prosecutors investigating the Samarco dam collapse charged 26 people on Friday, eight of which were employed by mining giant BHP Billiton.
Prosecutors have charged 21 people with qualified homicide, two years after the dam collapsed in November 2015. The collapse sent a tidal wave of mining waste through the Minas Gerais region of Brazil and killed 19 people.
Amongst those charged were employees of mining companies BHP Billiton, Samarco and Vale, who were found to be aware of the risk of collapse. However according to lead prosecutor Jose Leite Sampaio, the risks were ignored in favour of financial gain.
“Security was always of secondary importance. The increase in production at Samarco sought to compensate for the falling value of the ore in order, not only to maintain, but also to boost profits and dividends,” Mr Sampaio said in a televised news conference near the site of the dam.
The incident has so far cost BHP Billiton $2.2 billion, with chief executive Andrew Mackenzie saying the firm had made a “superhuman effort” to support local people in the wake of the disaster. The company issued 7,000 “financial assistance” cards allowing those affected to buy food, and said it “rejects outright the charges against the company and the affected individuals.”
“We will defend the charges against the company, and fully support each of the affected individuals in their defence.”
Vale also “vehemently” rejected the homicide charges, who released just a five-sentence statement after the dams collapsed and referred all other questions to mine operator Samarco. Samarco were the first to feel criticism in the wake of the tragedy, with the spotlight then moving to Vale and BHP Billiton.