Since the dam failure at Samarco, BHP’s¹ non-operated joint venture in Brazil, significant progress has been made to support affected communities. 

Resettlement projects led by the Renova Foundation, with support from Samarco, BHP and Vale, considered every angle before construction started in 2019 to ensure the livelihoods of those displaced could be restored.  

Today, approximately 430,000 people have received compensation or financial assistance and hundreds of homes have been built – around 90 per cent of total cases – each to the individual specifications of families.  

“There is such power in people impacted moving to streets that in many cases have the same names as their previous districts, alongside the same neighbours,” said Carla Wilson, General Manager Brazil. “This is strengthened by access to schools, services, businesses and places of worship that communities in Brazil need.” 

“We know it’s been a long road for these communities,” Carla reflected. “As people settle into life in Novo Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu, we can look back knowing that BHP stayed true to its commitment to do what’s right.” 

Learn more about the resettlement process on our Samarco Reparations page. 

¹ In the context of this article, BHP refers to BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda (BHP Brasil), which is our registered entity in Brazil.