Mine Safety - Two dams burst at Brazilian iron mine

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SUMMARY

On Thursday, two dams at the Samarco iron mine in Brazil, jointly owned by BHP Billiton and Vale, failed, resulting in catastrophic flooding that devastated the village of Bento Rodrigues. The floodwaters, containing mining waste, reached depths of 15 to 20 feet, destroying approximately 80% of the village and impacting surrounding areas. Rescue efforts are hampered due to the extent of the destruction and the challenging terrain, with dozens of individuals reported missing and an uncertain death toll.

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Astronuc
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It is commons practice to dump mine tailings in an area near a mine. In areas where it rains, water may accumulate behind burms and the tailings which form an earthen dam.

In valleys, lakes can form behind dams leading to potential failures.

http://abcnews.go.com/International...village-dam-burst-mudslides/story?id=35024425

Scores missing as deadly mudslide flattens Brazil village
http://news.yahoo.com/least-17-dead-dam-bursts-brazil-mining-waste-022224741.html

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/two-da...-at-brazil-iron-mine-photo-1446841117332.html

In Brazil, two dams failed flooding several villages down the valley.

Dozens missing in Brazil mine disaster, death toll uncertain
http://news.yahoo.com/dam-burst-vale-bhp-mine-devastates-brazilian-town-013112268--finance.html

Walls of water filled with mining waste cascaded downhill when the dams burst on Thursday, engulfing a nearby village in a sea of mud and flooding others far removed from the open-pit Samarco mine jointly owned by BHP Billiton and Vale.
The water and mud was reported to be 15 to 20 in depth, or height.

About 80% of the village Bento Rodrigues (which is about 93 miles (150 km) southeast of Belo Horizonte, Brazil's third largest city and the capital of the mining state of Minas Gerais) was destroyed. And authorities have trouble reaching the area.
 
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Google Earth gives a good view of what was sitting above them before the collapse.

BrazilBeforeDamCollapseII.jpg


And this is just the very bottom of a much larger mining area.

BrazilBeforeDamCollapseI.jpg
 

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