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Court orders Vale to present relocation plan for indigenous village

Vale begins dredging the Paraopeba River as part of its efforts to mitigate the effects of the Brumadinho disaster. Photo: Vale
Vale begins dredging the Paraopeba River as part of its efforts to mitigate the effects of the Brumadinho disaster. Photo: Vale

Vale, Brazil’s largest mining company, has until Tuesday to present a temporary relocation plan to the courts for the indigenous Pataxó and Pataxó Hã Hã Hãe communities, which were forced to temporarily leave their homes during the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019.

On January 25 of that year, the Córrego do Feijão tailings dam — owned by Vale — suffered a catastrophic failure and spilled untold amounts of toxic sludge into the surrounding area, killing 272 people.

During the trial, judge Thatiana Cristina Nunes Campelo highlighted two reports made after the dam failure, showing that the tailings spill contaminated the nearby Paraopeba River with heavy metals, making its waters unfit for human consumption and use. Indigenous communities in the region previously relied on the river for fishing, bathing, and collecting drinking water.

Ms. Campelo also ordered the mining company to pay each affected family one minimum wage (USD 237.60) per month, until the community is definitively relocated.

Recently, the situation of the Pataxó and Pataxó Hã Hã Hãe groups in the region became even worse due to heavy rains in Minas Gerais state, forcing the indigenous people to take refuge in shelters. The sheer volume of rains at the beginning of this year also increased the pollution levels of the Paraopeba River.