Brazilian state signs $2.2 bln 'mega-dam' deal with Chinese miner - report

Honbridge Holdings

14/09/2019 22:21

BRASILIA, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The Brazilian state of Minas
Gerais has signed a protocol of intent with Sul Americana de
Metais, a unit of Chinese miner Honbridge Holdings  8137.HK ,
for the construction of a 9.1 billion reais ($2.2 billion)
mining complex, newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo reported on
Saturday.
    The agreement, signed on Thursday, will include the
construction of a 845 million square meters (208,804
acres)tailing dam, which will be one of the largest in Brazil,
according to the report.
    That "mega-dam" would be some 70 times bigger than the
tailing dam that collapsed at Vale's  VAL3.SA  site in the Minas
Gerais town of Brumadinho in January, which resulted in the
deaths of more than 240 people.
    Tailings are the muddy waste produced in mining for iron ore
and other minerals. The waste is often contained within a dam
built using a variety of methods.
    Sul Americana de Metais insists the model is safe, according
to the report.

 (Reporting by Jamie McGeever
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
 ((jamie.mcgeever@thomsonreuters.com; +55 (0)11 97189 3169;
Reuters Messaging: jamie.mcgeever.reuters.com@reuters.net))