Court of Appeals closes appeals and sets the phase that will define the value of compensation for April 2027
The Court of England refused this Wednesday (May 6, 2026) an appeal against the conviction for the tragedy in Mariana (MG), caused by the collapse of the Fundão dam, in 2015.
The company –co-owner of Samarco alongside the Brazilian Vale– had been in November 2025. With the new decision, now handed down by the Court of Appeal, the company has exhausted the last ordinary route available in the English system to contest the sentence.
The Court concluded that there is no “convincing reasons” to judge the appeal. The deliberation continues the 2nd phase of the process, which will examine the categories of losses and the evidence to quantify the damages suffered by the victims, establishing the compensation amounts. The trial hearing for this stage is scheduled for April 2027.
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“The Court of Appeal has now joined the High Court in concluding that BHP’s grounds of appeal have no real prospect of success. An emphatic and unequivocal result. BHP is responsible for the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history and will not have another chance to reverse the decision”said Jonathan Wheeler, partner at Pogust Goodhead, which represents the victims.
For the lawyer, the end of the possibilities for appeal paves the way for the outcome of the case. “Our clients have waited more than a decade for justice, while BHP has pursued all procedural avenues to avoid liability. Those avenues are now closed. We are focused on securing the compensation that hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have long been entitled to”he declared.
AGREEMENT IN BRAZIL
In a note sent to Brazil AgencyBHP Brasil stated that it has been supporting Samarco to guarantee reparation “fair and integral” and that he will continue to defend himself in the process in England “robustly and for as long as necessary”.
The company declared confidence that the “New Rio Doce Agreement”signed in Brazil in October 2024 and which guaranteed R$170 billion for reparations, offers the fastest and most efficient solution to compensate those affected. According to the mining company, this work has already guaranteed payments to more than 625 thousand people.
BHP also highlighted that the English Court validated the discharges signed by those who have already received full compensation. The company’s estimate is that around 40% of the total individual claimants in the UK action will be excluded from the process, which would significantly reduce the size and value of claims made in Europe.
THE TRAGEDY
The collapse of the Fundão iron mine tailings dam on November 5, 2015, left 19 people dead, destroyed communities and dumped 40 million cubic meters of toxic mud into the environment. The material traveled 650 km along the Doce River until reaching the Atlantic Ocean.
The 640,000 authors of the action, who bring together , appealed to the British Court because they considered the processes carried out in Brazil to be insufficient. They claim around £36 billion (around R$260 billion at current prices) in damages. BHP was able to be tried in the United Kingdom because it maintained one of its headquarters in London at the time of the disaster.
