BHP goes on trial in London over 2015 Brazil mine disaster

LONDON

Australian mining giant BHP goes on trial over one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters, potentially triggering billions of dollars in compensation to be shared among hundreds of thousands of plaintiffs.

The High Court in London will examine over several months whether BHP was partly liable for the 2015 collapse of a dam at a mining waste site in Brazil.

The rupture killed 19 people and unleashed a deluge of thick toxic mud into villages, fields, rainforest, rivers and the ocean.

The Fundao tailings dam at an iron ore mine in the mountains of Minas Gerais state was managed by Samarco, co-owned by BHP and Brazilian miner Vale.

At the time of the disaster, BHP had global headquarters in the U.K. as well as in Australia.

A separate case in Brazil has seen Vale and BHP offer to pay almost $30 billion in compensation.

Vale has offered to share any compensation BHP ends up paying as a result of the London trial.

The tragedy in the town of Mariana unleashed a torrent of almost 45 million cubic metres of highly toxic mining waste sludge, flooding 39 towns and leaving more than 600 people homeless.

The flood killed thousands of animals and devastated protected areas of tropical rainforest.

The amount of damages sought in the upcoming civil trial is estimated at a total 36 billion pounds ($47 billion), on behalf of more than 620,000 plaintiffs, including 46 Brazilian municipalities, companies and indigenous peoples.

The hearing, set to last until early March, must determine BHP's potential liability surrounding the disaster.

If it is found to be liable, another U.K. trial should take place from October 2026 to determine the amount of damages.