Economics
Brazil’s Deadly Dam Collapse Could Force the Mining Industry to Change
The list of catastrophic failures will continue to grow so long as cost ranks ahead of safety.
Tailings dam at an iron-ore mine in Itatiaiuçu, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Photographer: Júlia Pontés
This article is for subscribers only.
The mining dam collapse that killed at least 169 in Brazil last month, with 141 still missing, was by no means an isolated incident. There’ve been at least 50 dam failures globally in just the last decade, according to one tally, with 10 considered major.
For years the industry has depended on these dams to contain the sometimes toxic, often dangerous, waste from mining. But the latest failure, which could end up as the deadliest in more than half a century, has the industry struggling to contain the consequences.