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Vale promises houses to people affected by dams disaster

Xinhua, January 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Brazilian mining giant Vale's president and CEO Murilo Ferreira promised on Monday that the families left homeless in the collapse of two tailings dams in southeast Brazil last November will receive new houses by the end of the year.

Vale is one of the parent companies of Samarco that owned the two tailings dams which burst on Nov. 5 last year. The accident caused a slide of mud and iron ore waste down a valley, killing at least 17 and completely destroying the entire residential neighborhood of Mariana in Minas Gerais state.

The toxic sludge also reached an important river in the region, the Doce, destroying it and damaging water distribution in several towns. The damages continued when the toxic mud reached the ocean.

Ferreira said he has been monitoring the measures taken by Vale to help the residents of the destroyed region and that all houses will be fully furnished. A decision on the location of the new community has yet to be made.

Brazilian courts are seeking a quick solution to the case. The Brazilian government has said it plans to sue the company for an estimated 20 billion reals (5.20 billion U.S. dollars).The proceeds will be put in a fund for cleaning up the Rio Doce valley over the next decade. Endi