A London court finds BHP liable for the Mariana dam collapse
The High Court ruled that BHP is liable under Brazilian law for the 2015 failure of Samarco’s Fundão dam. The claimants’ lawyers had valued the case at up to £36bn. Damages will be set in later trials, and BHP’s attempts to appeal were refused in 2026.

Why it matters. A parent company can be held liable for a joint venture’s disaster in its home courts, years after the event.
- Source
- MINING.COM
- In the course
- Module 10: Risk and jurisdiction