Federal Police: Vale falsified data on mud after tragedy.
Vale falsified data on the volume of mud it itself dumped into the Fundão dam, which collapsed in November 2015 in Mariana, in the Central Region of Minas Gerais, leaving 19 dead; a report by the Federal Police indicated that, in the month following the tragedy, Vale modified information about the concentration of the ore it produced in Mariana; according to the Federal Police, the company altered the last five Annual Mining Reports (RALs) it had sent to the National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM); police said the objective was to "deceive the regulatory authorities."
Mines 247 - Vale falsified data on the volume of mud it itself dumped into the Fundão dam, which collapsed in November 2015 in the district of Bento Rodrigues, in Mariana, Central Region of Minas Gerais, leaving 19 dead. The mud reached approximately 1,5 hectares along 77 kilometers of waterways, according to Ibama.
Vale, along with BHP Billiton, is one of the owners of Samarco, the mining company responsible for the dam. According to a Federal Police report obtained by Folha, the company altered reports to confuse the investigations. In the month following the tragedy, Vale modified information about the concentration of the ore it produced in Mariana. As a consequence, the volume of mud released at Fundão (the dam that ruptured) was lower than initially reported by the company.
Police consider the high amount of water present in the tailings deposited in the structure as one of the causes of the rupture. According to the Federal Police, the company altered the last five Annual Mining Reports (RALs) it had sent to the National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM), a federal agency. However, the data on the amount of ore produced annually were maintained.
In a statement, Vale acknowledges the changes, but stated that they were "corrections" and that it acted transparently in the investigations. "At no time did Vale attempt to hinder or confuse any action taken by the regulatory body; on the contrary, it provided full transparency and information to those entitled to it," the mining company said in the statement.
The police reported that the purpose of the alterations was "to deceive the regulatory authorities." "This act [alteration] has been occurring so that Vale can evade its responsibilities regarding the tailings deposited by it in the aforementioned dam [Fundão]," states a section of the report.
The company said it had corrected 1% of the fields in the reports submitted to the government. Vale stated that the change in the height of the Campo Grande dam made in the RAL (Annual Mining Report) was done incorrectly. Therefore, a new correction was made.