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BHP says claim it put safety over earnings 'unjustified' in Brazilian dam collapse case

BHP said on Wednesday that accusations a pursuit of profit over security added to Brazil's worst environmental catastrophe were unlikely and unjustified, as the miner opened its defence to a massive claim at London's High Court.

More than 600,000 Brazilians, 46 local governments and around 2,000 services are suing BHP over the 2015 collapse of the Mariana dam in southeastern Brazil, which was owned and run by BHP and Vale's Samarco joint venture.

The dam's collapse released a wave of harmful sludge that eliminated 19 individuals, left thousands homeless, flooded forests and polluted the length of the Doce River.

The plaintiffs' attorneys implicated BHP of cynically and doggedly attempting to prevent responsibility as the trial of a. lawsuit worth approximately 36 billion pounds ($ 47 billion), among the. biggest in English legal history, started on Monday.

They also allege BHP contributed to the collapse of the dam. by permitting it to be raised as part of an expansion project,. in spite of an increasing danger of failure.

BHP, the world's most significant miner by market value, is. objecting to liability and says the London claim replicates. legal procedures and reparation and repair work programs in Brazil. and ought to be tossed out.

The miner argues it did not own or run the dam, which. held mining waste referred to as tailings, which Samarco ran. individually. It also states it had no understanding the dam's. stability was compromised before it collapsed.

BHP's legal representative Shaheed Fatima informed the court on Wednesday that. the case against it was essentially flawed.

The plaintiffs appear to state that BHP was so inspired to. make benefit from their financial investment in Samarco that they got. behind the wheel, they operated the business, they put profits. before safety, she stated. This is unrealistic and illogical.

Fatima included: The profits before safety allegation, that is. especially improbable and unjustified.

She said that BHP's former finance chief Peter Beaven, who. is because of give evidence next month, said in a witness statement:. BHP had a culture which was ingrained throughout the. organisation from top to bottom of safety before anything else.

The continuous 12-week trial to determine whether BHP is accountable. to the claimants comes as the Brazilian authorities'. settlements with BHP, Vale and Samarco over a nearly $30. billion compensation deal continue.

Sources close to the settlements told Reuters a final. arrangement might have an influence on the London claim, a. suggestion the complaintants' law firm Pogust Goodhead turned down.

(source: Reuters)