BHP could face billions of dollars in additional payments over the next few years to compensate victims of its deadly Brazilian dam failure after the UK high court ruled against the mining giant on Friday.
The ruling comes more than a decade after the tragic collapse of BHP’s partly owned Fundão tailings dam, which resulted in the death of 19 bystanders and wrought havoc on the surrounding environment and wildlife.
The tailings dam, located in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, is owned and operated by Samarco, a joint venture between BHP and Brazilian giant Vale, with both having already paid billions in compensation for the incident.
The latest UK ruling comes just over a year after BHP settled with Brazilian authorities, agreeing to pay $31.7bn in compensation over the next two decades.
In 2016, one year after the collapse, Brazilian federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against BHP and the joint venture, but the groups were ultimately acquitted of these charges soon after agreeing to the settlement.
In September, however, the miner agreed to pay another $110m to settle a separate Australian class action lawsuit launched by investors who claimed the company had misled them about Fundão’s safety standards.
According to a UN report, the dam collapse resulted in about 60-million cubic metres of tailings being released into the surrounding area, leaving dozens homeless while severely contaminating the Rio Doce River, the region’s primary source of clean water.
The Fundão dam immediately halted operations after the incident, resuming them five years later in December 2020.
According to a statement on Friday, more than 600,000 claimants seeking damages from the collapse have brought proceedings against BHP in the English high court.
BHP said it planned to appeal the decision, arguing that the UK group action was unjustified given the remediation it had already paid to Brazilian authorities.
“More than 610,000 people have already been compensated in Brazil, including approximately 240,000 claimants from the UK group action who have provided releases for related claims,” said BHP.
“BHP believes the UK group action is duplicative of remediation and compensation that has already occurred in Brazil or which is available under the Brazil Agreement.”
The group said it had spent about $1bn on Samarco settlements since June, with expected cash outflows expected to be $2.2bn in the year to end-June 2026 and another $500m in the 2027 financial year.
“Subject to BHP’s appeal, a second-stage trial will decide whether losses claimed by the claimants were caused by the dam failure. This trial is scheduled for October 2026 to March 2027,” it said.
However, a third trial, where the actual amount due in the UK high court would be determined, is expected to conclude only in 2028 or 2029.
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