Renegotiation of the Rio Doce Agreement

The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) worked intensively with the Federal Government in negotiating the new agreement for full and definitive compensation for the damage caused by the collapse of the Fundão Dam in the municipality of Mariana (MG) on November 5, 2015, almost ten years after the tragedy.

The agreement totals R$ 170 billion. In addition to the amounts already paid directly by the companies, which reached R$ 38 billion, the new agreement provides for the payment of an additional R$ 132 billion.

Of this amount, R$ 100 billion represents new resources to be paid within 20 years to the government by the companies involved in the tragedy, to be used for reparations, environmental recovery, healthcare, and infrastructure.

The remaining R$ 32 billion will be directed to compensation for victims, as well as environmental restoration, sediment removal, and community resettlement.

The episode was the largest environmental catastrophe in the country’s history and the largest mining tailings dam rupture in the world. Located 35 km from the center of Mariana, the dam was under the responsibility of Samarco, a company controlled by Vale (Brazilian) and BHP Billiton (British-Australian).

The disaster caused the deaths of 19 people and the disappearance of three others, in addition to leaving 600 families homeless and 1.2 million people without access to drinking water. Approximately 40 million cubic meters of tailings were released into the environment, affecting 49 municipalities in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. The mud traveled 663 km before reaching the sea.

Approved by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), the new agreement highlights the following environmental obligations for the companies:

• Removal of nine million cubic meters of tailings deposited in the reservoir of the Risoleta Neves hydroelectric plant, in the Rio Doce river basin.

• Completion of resettlement in the communities of Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu de Baixo.

• Restoration of 54,000 hectares of native forest and 5,000 springs in the Rio Doce basin

• Implementation of Contaminated Water Management (GAC) system.

• With regard to the affected families, the companies are now required to:

• Implement a Final and Definitive Compensation System (PID) to reach those affected who were unable to provide documentary proof of the damage suffered

• Pay R$ 35,000 to affected individuals in general and R$ 95,000 to fishermen and farmers

• Allocate R$ 11.5 billion for payments, to be made by the companies, covering an estimated 300,000 people

• Pay R$ 13,000 for water-related damages (estimated 20,000 people). 

STRATEGIC ROLE

Under Annexes V and XIV of the New Rio Doce Agreement, the MME assumed a strategic role in coordinating actions focused both on repairing damages and preventing future risks related to mining activities.

Through the Incentive Program for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Production, and Economic Recovery, the MME works in coordination with the Ministry of Education (MEC) and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI), with R$ 2.09 billion allocated from the agreement.

The program aims to promote the socioeconomic development of the affected regions by fostering scientific research, technological innovation, educational training, and local productive restructuring. This structuring initiative is designed to generate sustainable and diversified opportunities for impacted communities.

Annex XIV, under the exclusive responsibility of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the commitment to the Reinforcement of the Inspection Activities of the Government in the Prevention and Mitigation of Risks in Mining is highlighted.

An investment of R$ 1 billion was planned, intended exclusively for the execution of prevention, inspection, monitoring, risk analysis and regulatory improvement actions, with emphasis on mining activities located in the Doce River Basin.

The objective is to strengthen the operational and institutional capacity of the State, ensuring a more effective performance in the inspection of the mineral sector, in the prevention of new disasters and in the promotion of environmental and social security in the exploration regions.

The MME’s performance in these two axes – institutional valorization and regulatory strengthening – reaffirms the Federal Government’s commitment to the full reparation of the damage caused and to the construction of a new paradigm of responsible, safe and public-interest-oriented mining.

UNDERSTANDING THE RENEGOTIATION

The renegotiation was a comprehensive review of the Transaction and Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TTAC), signed in 2016 between the government and Samarco. It established the conditions for environmental remediation and compensation for individuals, companies, and public and private institutions.

The facts showed that the model and measures implemented by the company were not sufficient to ensure the rights of those affected to fair and adequate reparation. Nor did they guarantee the environmental recovery of the areas severely impacted by the disaster in the Doce River Basin.

The new agreement aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous model. Under this arrangement, the federal government, the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, and the affected municipalities are now responsible for implementing part of the remediation actions, once financial resources are received from the company responsible for the disaster. With this new approach, the federal government, the states (Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo), and the affected municipalities will take the lead in managing remediation projects and programs.

NUMBERS

TOTAL AGREEMENT – R$ 170 BILLION

• R$ 100 billion allocated to the federal government, the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, and city governments for the implementation of various reparations (new funds)

• R$ 32 billion for individual compensation and other reparations

• R$ 38 billion already paid and/or spent by the companies

MARIANA DISASTER

• 19 dead

• 3 missing

• 40 million cubic meters of mining waste released

 DATES

• 11/05/2015 – Collapse of the Fundão Dam, owned by Samarco, in Mariana (MG)

• March, 2016 – Signing of the Transaction and Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TTAC) between the government and Samarco

• 10/25/2024 – Signing of the New Rio Doce Agreement at the Planalto Palace, in a ceremony attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

• 11/06/2024 – Approval by the Federal Supreme Court