Cause of Brazil tailings dam failure still undetermined – BHP

Mining giant BHP Billiton said on Monday that the cause of the tailing dam failure at its Samarco joint venture (JV), in Brazil, had not yet been established. One of the three tailings dams at the Samarco JV, in which Vale also held a stake, failed on November 5, causing a significant release of mining tailings, which flooded the community of Bento Rodrigues and impacted other communities downstream.