- Brazil’s government says it is banning new upstream tailings dams and orders the decommissioning of all such dams by August 2021, targeting the type of structure that burst last month and killed hundreds of people.
- The move by Brazil’s mining regulator, which would affect 84 upstream mining waste dams and ~50 in the mining heartland of Minas Gerais state alone, is the government's strongest response yet to the disaster.
- Also, the German inspection firm that signed off on the Vale (VALE -0.6%) tailings dam that burst last month says it will no longer certify tailings dams owned by the Brazilian miner.
- The firm says there is “heightened uncertainty” over whether the current certifications system is appropriate.