Samarco dam disaster update: Mining company’s executives take leave to prepare defence

Mining company Samarco announced that its CEO and operations head would be temporarily stepping down to focus on their defence in relation to the Nov. 5 deadly dam disaster in Brazil.

The firm said Samarco CEO Ricardo Vescovi and head of operations Kleber Terra asked to leave in a bid to boost their legal strategy against lawsuits stemming from the Nov. 5 dam burst at an iron ore mine in the central state of Minas Gerais, Reuters reported.

Samarco, a joint venture between mining giants Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd., is facing fines amounting to billions of dollars after a dam burst caused a deluge of toxic mud and mine waste. The disaster killed at least 17 people, injured at least 50, and left a number of villagers missing. In addition to destroying the Bento Rodrigues district in Mariana and nearby villages, the Samarco incident also harmed wildlife in the area.

The company’s executives were indicted for environmental crimes last week, according to a report by Mongabay. In the charges, Brazil’s federal police in Minas Gerais cited Article 54 of the Environmental Crimes Law, which rebukes acts “causing pollution of any kind at such levels that result or may result in damage to human health or causing the death of animals or significant destruction of flora.”

In response, a Samarco spokesperson said the company “disagrees with the indictment of its staff because there isn’t a technical expert conclusion of the causes of the accident so far.”

Samarco said that in light of recent developments in its management, Commercial Director Roberto Carvalho would be named interim CEO. Maury Souza, on the other hand, would serve as director of operations, as approved by the company's board in a Wednesday meeting.