Mining company announces decharacterization of dam in Ouro Preto (MG)

CSN Mineração announced, this Thursday (25), that it has completed the decharacterization and deregistration of the Vigia Dam, located in Complexo do Pires, in Ouro Preto, in the Central region of Minas Gerais. This was the third structure of the company to be decharacterized, with one more expected to complete the process by 2028.

The decharacterization works were completed and the waste containment and storage structure on site was removed. An inspection confirmed that the dam is out of character and, therefore, is no longer subject to State Law No. 23,291/2019 and Decree No. 48,140/2021, known as the ‘Sea of Mud Never Again Law’.

Decharacterization is the process of intervention in the dam structure that causes it to completely lose its characteristics. This includes the removal of all ore waste that is inside the structure,

Dam is already listed as ‘100% uncharacterized’ on the Public Ministry’s website

Inspection certifies dam safety in Congonhas

CSN Mineração also announced that a technical inspection carried out earlier this week found that the Casa de Pedra Dam is safe and meets current standards and legislation. At the end of 2023, the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) filed a lawsuit in court asking for compensation of R$20 million for CSN as a form of reparation for the landslides recorded in January 2022.

This week’s inspection was attended by representatives from the State Secretariat for the Environment and Sustainable Development (Semad), the Minas Gerais Water Management Institute (Igam), the State Civil Defense Coordination (CEDEC), the Military Police and the Military Fire Department. , Center for Combating Environmental Crimes (NUCRIM/MPMG) and Municipal Civil Protection and Defense Coordinations (COMPDEC’s).

CSN also announced that it has opened a competition to hire a study that will analyze and identify opportunities for the decharacterization of the Casa de Pedra Dam. The company claims that it is doing this even without legal obligation, as the structure was built using the downstream method.