BHP Brasil was one of the sponsors of the debate on reparation and the future of mining at CNN Talks

BHP Brasil was one of the sponsors of CNN Talks: "New Era of Mining", an event that took place on June 30 in São Paulo. The meeting brought together authorities, experts, and industry leaders to discuss the future and challenges of mining in Brazil. Several panelists debated the complexity, operational responsibility, and regulatory scenario of the sector, with emphasis on the reparation process of the Fundão dam collapse, from Samarco, a non-operated joint venture of BHP Brasil with Vale.

In the panel “The sector that sustains Brazil and the commitments that sustain the sector”, the reparation process of the Mariana case, in Brazil, was the central theme. Participants in the conversation included Rodrigo Vilela, CEO of Samarco; Elaine Costa de Lima, prosecutor and coordinator of the Rio Doce GT of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Espírito Santo; Edilson Vitorelli, federal judge of the TRF-6; Gabriel Visconti, superintendent of the Area for Coping with Extreme Events and Management of the Rio Doce Fund of BNDES; and Lyssandro Norton, Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainable Development of Minas Gerais.

Rodrigo Vilela highlighted advancements in technology and governance, mentioning the gradual resumption of Samarco's operations in December 2020 and the signing of the Brazilian Agreement in November 2024. He emphasized that the reparation obligations were fully assumed, with concrete deliveries in resettlement, compensation, and environmental recovery, and that the sector's message must be one of commitment to reconstruction and trust in the Brazilian justice system.

Edilson Vitorelli, from TRF-6, compared the Brazilian reparation process to the developments of the lawsuit BHP faces in England. According to Vitorelli, “We have already repaired R$ 54 billion, with R$ 14 billion in the last year, paid to more than 300 thousand people. The English process is 8 years old and has not yet paid anything to anyone, except for exclusively procedural expenses,” he stated.

During the event, Paulo Chung, Vice President of Legal and Reparation at BHP Brasil, gave an interview to CNN in which he also addressed advancements in reparation. He stated that the water quality of the Rio Doce has already returned to the levels recorded before the Fundão dam collapse, which occurred in 2015. Chung highlighted the transfer of R$ 11 billion planned in the Brazilian Agreement for the universalization of basic sanitation in the Basin and on the northern coast of Espírito Santo, indicating that better sanitation can positively influence health, reduce school absenteeism, and increase property values.

CNN Talks also addressed the modernization of the mining sector in Brazil, including regulatory issues and the creation of a council for critical and strategic minerals in other panels. Experts debated the energy transition and decarbonization, highlighting the sector's opportunity to improve inspection and information sharing for prevention.

BHP Brasil, as one of Samarco's shareholders, maintains its commitment to reparation and to complying with the obligations established by the Brazilian Agreement, prioritizing transparency and dialogue with communities and authorities.