BHP loses bid to appeal Brazil dam disaster ruling

Staff Writer | May 6, 2026 | 

Rupture of Samarco’s Fundao dam – (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

BHP (ASX: BHP) cannot appeal a UK court ruling that found the world’s largest miner liable for Brazil’s deadliest environmental disaster, tightening pressure ahead of a damages trial tied to the 2015 Fundão dam collapse .

London’s Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday there was “ample evidence” supporting a previous High Court decision that held BHP legally responsible under Brazilian law for the disaster at the Samarco iron ore operation in Mariana, southeastern Brazil. Samarco was jointly owned by BHP and Vale (NYSE: VALE). The Court of Appeal rejected BHP’s argument that the trial judge failed to properly consider the company’s submissions.

The collapse of the Fundão tailings dam in Mariana, southeastern Brazil, unleashed a torrent of toxic sludge that killed 19 people, displaced thousands, destroyed forests and contaminated the Doce River along hundreds of kilometres. 

The High Court first ruled in November that BHP was liable for the collapse, before rejecting the company’s request for permission to appeal in January.

“The Court of Appeal has now joined the High Court in finding that BHP’s grounds of appeal have no real prospect of success – an emphatic and unambiguous outcome,” Jonathan Wheeler, lead partner for the Mariana litigation at Pogust Goodhead, said in a statement Wednesday. “BHP remains liable for the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history, and it will not be given another bite at the cherry”.

Judge Fraser wrote in the ruling that he did “not accept that any of the grounds relating to BHP’s liability for the dam breach are reasonably defensible” and found “no basis” to argue the trial judge failed to consider BHP’s case properly.

BHP said Wednesday it remained confident that remediation work completed since 2015 and the Brazil settlement “provide the quickest and most efficient solution” for those affected.

“Since 2015, we have supported Samarco in ensuring full and fair reparation, and that is why we are willing to defend the UK case robustly and for as long as it takes,” BHP said in an emailed statement. “Following the Stage 2 trial, further trials to assess damages are not expected to conclude until 2030 and beyond.”

BHP said the roughly $32-billion Brazil agreement and remediation programs launched after the disaster have already provided compensation to more than 625,000 people.

The miner also said about 240,000 claimants, representing roughly 40% of the claimant group, had already received indemnification in Brazil and would discontinue their UK claims.

“The court in its trial judgment recognized the compensation programs delivered in Brazil since 2015 and upheld releases signed by those impacted by the dam failure,” BHP said. “This underscores the importance of the work done over the past 10 years in Brazil.”

Two-year trial and counting

At the trial, which began in 2024, lawyers representing hundreds of thousands of Brazilians and other claimants accused BHP of attempting to sidestep accountability. The miner argued the UK proceedings duplicated ongoing legal actions, compensation efforts and environmental repair programs already under way in Brazil.

During the first week of the London proceedings, Brazil signed a 170-billion-real ($34.6 billion) compensation agreement with BHP, Vale and Samarco tied to the dam failure. 

Pogust Goodhead called Wednesday’s ruling “another victory” for victims seeking justice more than a decade after the disaster and “a major setback” for BHP. The law firm said the Court of Appeal decision effectively closes BHP’s last ordinary avenue in England to challenge the liability ruling.

“Our clients have waited more than a decade for justice, while BHP pursued every procedural avenue to avoid liability; those avenues are now closed,” Wheeler said. “We are focused on securing the compensation that hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have long been entitled to.”

The lawsuit is among the largest environmental cases ever heard in the UK and could expose BHP to billions more in damages. A second phase of the trial to determine compensation for affected communities, businesses and municipalities is scheduled to begin in April 2027.