Although scholars have dedicated efforts to analyzing technical risks in the extractive industry—and a body of research has generated valuable insights into these risks—ongoing tailings dam disasters suggest that critical aspects are being overlooked and that significant gaps remain to be addressed. This study seeks to enhance understanding of how institutional voids affect the way mining companies manage the risk of tailings dam failures and the resulting impacts on nearby communities.

Focusing on the context of a globally significant traditional mining producer, the study examines the two largest tailings dam failures in the history of the mining industry and their impact on a community located near the sites of both disasters, which now faces the imminent risk of two additional upstream dam failures. A triangulated approach was adopted, including extensive document analysis of dam failures and 209 interviews conducted over two years with subgroups of local residents and related stakeholders.

Researcher: Gambirage et al.
Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (FGV EBAPE)

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