Semad, a Minas Gerais state environmental authority, ordered Brazil pellet producer Samarco, a 50/50 JV between Vale and BHP Billiton, to “correct” all its environment licensing processes as well as the processes for its structures and activities related to the Germano mining complex in the city of Mariana, where an iron ore waste dam break killed 19 people in November 2015.
Semad’s moves meets a request from the Public Ministry in the state of Minas Gerais, a body of public prosecutors. According to Semad, existing licenses for the Germano complex are currently suspended until a whole new process be “formalized.”
The decision adds to the woes of Samarco, which has been unable to resume operations and has delayed start-up forecasts. Credit rating agencies said the company could run out of cash soon, and prosecutors asked Semad to not grant any new license until Samarco proves it has adopted all the needed measures to take the mud out of the Carmo and Gualuxo do Norte rivers.
“Samarco can only start operating when it demonstrates to public authorities it can operate safely and with an environmental control,” prosecutor Carlos Eduardo Ferreira Pinto told Brazilian media.
Samarco said it will meet the determinations of Semad regarding the Germano mining complex.