Shares Of World’s Largest Miner Plunge To Seven-Year Low After Massive Toxic Mudslide Engulfs Brazilian Village
Ok, so if you’re the world’s largest mining company, one thing you don’t want is a global deflationary supply glut brought on by depressed demand from China and a worldwide excess capacity problem.
Another thing you don’t want is for a tailings dam to burst, sending a river of toxic mud into a nearby village in South America.
Well, BHP Billiton is now dealing with both of those issues and the market is punishing the stock, which hit a seven-year low on Monday as analysts and investors alike attempt to figure out how the company intends to clean up a spectacular (in a bad way) mess in Minas Gerais.
Here’s what happened, in BHP’s words:
The Samarco operations include a three tiered tailings dam complex. Within this complex, the Fundão dam failed and the downstream Santarém dam has been affected. This resulted in a significant release of mine tailings, flooding the community of Bento Rodrigues and impacting other communities downstream. The third dam in the complex, the Germano dam, is being monitored by Samarco. At this time, there is no confirmation of the causes of the tailings release.
Samarco is jointly operated with Brazilian giant Vale and BHP has been keen to note that the joint venture is “responsible for the entirety” of the Minas Gerais operations. After the company’s operating license was revoked on Monday, its debt plunged, with some $2.2 billion in paper due 2022, 2023, and 2024 hitting record lows.
For those who might have missed it, the following images will tell you pretty much all you need to know about what happened:
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