A new movement in the Turmalina mine tailings pile scared residents of the community of Casquilho de Cima, in Conceição do Pará, in the Center-West of Minas Gerais, this Wednesday afternoon (11/12). According to the municipal Civil Defense, an area of approximately 500 m² was detached from the top of the structure and “accommodated” at its base. There is no record of injured people or new homes being hit.
The community has been on alert since Saturday (7/12), when there was a partial collapse of a pile of mine tailings. Five houses were buried, and another 109 were closed in the community. Images taken by residents this Wednesday show a new landslide of part of the solid waste.
To the State of MinesBruno Ricardo Alves de Lacerda, member of the Civil Defense of Conceição do Pará, reported that this afternoon’s movement had no impact on the pile of earth and waste moved over the weekend. According to him, smaller landslides were already predicted.
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According to Captain Thales Gustavo de Oliveira Costa, from the Fire Department, the heavy rain that hits the region late this Wednesday afternoon could cause new landslides in the waste pile. In an audio shared with the press, the military stated that the Previously affected community remains closed.
“It is important to highlight that, at this moment, we are experiencing rainy weather. We are working with the possibility of new landslides. According to the company [mineradora Jaguar]the entire pile is in motion, and there is, indeed, the possibility of new landslides. We reinforce the information to the people of the village of Castilho de Cima that the region remains isolated and they should not return to their homes until normal conditions are restored”, said the captain.
The report contacted Jaguar Mining, the Canadian mining company responsible for the Turmalina mine, for information on the safety of the structure, but, until the publication of this article, had not received a response.
Impacts
Os homeless residents were taken to hotels in neighboring citiessuch as Pitangui, Nova Serrana and Pará de Minas. Some families, however, chose to seek shelter at relatives’ homes. Civil Defense reported that it does not have the exact number of displaced people.
Aerial images recorded by a local cameraman and shared with the State of Mines show the extent of the damage in the region: streets buried in waste and houses completely destroyed. In the records, it is possible to notice that there is earth movement close to the houses and observe the destruction caused to the houses affected by the mining waste.
To try to contain new disasters, containment barriers are being erected by the mining company Jaguar, responsible for the mine. Continuous monitoring combines company technologies, such as radars, with images captured by firefighters using drones in an attempt to predict new landslides.
There is still no forecast for the return of residents to their homes nor is it certain that it will be possible to return to occupy them. “We reinforce the request for people to preserve safety, which is the most important thing, and wait for an official statement until the situation normalizes again”, warns captain Thales Gustavo,
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