Report: Large number of Brazilian tailings dams at risk of rupture

Nearly one third of Brazilian tailings dams covered by the national dam safety policy are at medium or high risk to experience a rupture, according to a report by mining regulator ANM.

The report, jointly published with industry association Ibram and Minas Gerais mining municipalities association Amig, lists 461 dams that are included in the dam safety policy. Of those, 316 (68.5%) do not register any risk, but 87 (18.8%) are at medium and 58 (12.5%) at high risk.

Brazil has 911 mining dams overall.

“City halls should seek knowledge and closely monitor the dams that are in their cities, so that they can keep the population informed and, above all, demand from mining companies a position on the real state of the structures, if necessary,” Amig president and mayor of Conceição do Mato Dentro, José Fernando Aparecido de Oliveira, said in a press release.

Tailings dams have become an issue in Brazil since dams in Mariana and Brumadinho collapsed in 2015 and 2019, causing 300 deaths and severe environmental damage.

Authorities increase monitoring every year during wet season, between December and March.

Picture credit: ANM