Despite the region’s steep topography and vulnerability to earthquakes, companies are seeking to exploit Ecuador’s Chimborazo province for large-scale copper and gold mining, reports Ana Zorita.
Vale
A tailings dam owned by Brazilian iron ore producer Vale burst in Brumadinho in the state of Minas Gerais on January 25. This is the second of its tailings dams to burst in several years. Hundreds died and the devastation to local residents, water resources and biodiversity was immense.
The world’s biggest producer of iron ore, Vale, has again distanced itself from an ecological and workplace disaster of its own making, writes Pip Hinman.