Exclusive-Prosecutors in Brazil state sue AngloGold Ashanti over dam safety
By Marta Nogueira
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Public prosecutors in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais have filed a lawsuit against AngloGold Ashanti seeking 50 million reais ($9.91 million) in damages after the gold mining company allegedly withheld expert advice from authorities indicating a lack of stability in one of its dams, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The lawsuit also asks for several additional safety measures and says that "twice in 2022 the defendant had robust technical studies, prepared by specialized consultants hired by the company, which indicated the absence of stability in the dam" in Nova Lima and that it chose not to publish them.
"(AngloGold Ashanti) simply concealed the fact that they existed and, after trying to convince the consulting firm to change its mind about the dam's stability, it decided to change the team in charge of the service," the lawsuit said.
In a request for comment, AngloGold Ashanti said it has not discharged wastewater or effluents into the Queiroz dams since December 2022 and that production at the unit's plants has been halted since then, but did not detail the reasons for stopping the discharge of wastewater.
($1 = 5.0462 reais)
(Reporting by Marta Nogueira; Writing by Steven Grattan; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
