ANOTHER TAILINGS DISASTER:

Residents are seen observing the impact of the breach of an iron-ore tailings dam at the Córrego do Feijão mine in Brazil, operated by Brazilian mining company Vale SA, which four years ago suffered a simiar breach at the Samarco iron-ore tailings dam, where Australian mining company BHP was a joint owner. More than 400 people were unaccounted for at the time of going to press, following the devastating release of a torrent of red iron-ore waste. Vale CE Fabio Schvartsman said he was “completely torn apart” by the latest tragedy as environmentalists accused Brazil of failing to learn from the Samarco tragedy that killed 19 people and deprived 375 families of their homes. Tailings dams, which are designed for permanent containment, are experiencing failure rates considerably greater than the failure rates of conventional water retention dams.