Protest over mining tragedy

More than 100 activists recently gathered outside Brazilian mining giant Vale’s Rio headquarters wearing “mud river” costumes to represent the bursting of two dams at one of its iron ore mines on Nov. 5. The disaster flattened a village in Minas Gerais state, killed 10 people and left 15 others missing. Mine waste water from the dams contaminated drinking water, forced authorities to declare a state of emergency in more than 200 towns, and polluted 300 miles of rivers. The Rio activists say they are angry over Vale’s apparent lack of involvement in a recovery plan. The mines are jointly owned by Vale and Australia’s BHP Billiton. In Perth, activists have called on the Australian company to pay billions in compensation.

Photos by Mario Tama / Getty Images

Protesters lie in muddy water at the entrance to the mining company Vale’s Rio de Janeiro headquarters. An activist spreads muddy water over the Brazilian mining company Vale’s logo at its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.

Another activist, angry over Vale’s slow response to a recovery plan, splashes muddy water at the entrance to company headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.