On January 25, 2019, a devastating collapse occurred at an iron ore tailings dam located near Brumadinho, Brazil. The dam is under the ownership of Vale, the same mining company involved in the Mariana dam disaster of 2015.
The initial signs of failure were visible at the crest of the dam, extending downward towards an area above the starter dam. This failure rapidly spread across much of the dam's face, concluding within a mere 10 seconds. Approximately 10 million cubic meters of tailings were discharged in less than five minutes, resulting in a mudflow downstream that claimed the lives of nearly 250 people, with several more still reported as missing.
What caused the Brumadinho dam collapse?
Currently, the reason for the dam's collapse is not known. As per Vale, the dam was constructed in 1976 by Ferteco Mineração, which was later acquired by Vale in 2001, utilizing the upstream method. The dam stood at a height of 86 meters and had a crest length of 720 meters. The area occupied by the disposed tailings was 249,500 m2, with a volume of 11.7 million m3. Authorities are investigating liquefaction as one of the potential causes of the incident.
Comments
No comment yet.