Atrocity Mining

Iron mining

Last week was the fifth anniversary of the Brumadinho dam disaster when 270 mine workers and villagers died in a toxic avalanche of mining waste. Vale, the company to blame for the crime-disaster, continue to maintain that it was an unfortunate accident and pay out compensation. But no amount of money can account for the trauma of destroyed families, lost livelihoods, and a terminally ill natural environment. It is a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions that like a radioactive fallout will take hundreds of years to repair. There is of course no stopping the mining companies who politically are largely untouchable due to the dependence of the Brasilian economy on the revenues gained from the sale of natural resources. In full-blown propaganda operations that belong to a dystopian Ministry of Untruth, company websites promise sustainable development, community care and employment opportunities. For those that live in mining areas the reality is somewhat different; environmental racism and ‘dam terrorism’. Many aldeias and quilombos, settlements built by indigenous and black communities are located on or near rich mineral deposits. Financial blackmail, veiled threats, and land appropriation are just some of the tactics used by international corporations to evict them. Then there is the constant fear of another dam exploding. In what is akin to a macabre theatre of war, mining companies are obliged by law to simulate dam collapses. Emergency action plans and maps of escape routes are distributed to residents whose homes lie in the way of potential rivers of contaminated rock and soil. The leaflets come with advice. When you hear the warning sirens, prepare to evacuate. Do not take belongings. Do not look behind. Head immediately to a designated meeting point and await help.