On the 18th of August, communities from Conceição do Mato Dentro, Alvorada de Minas, Serro and Dom Joaquim held a demonstration, peacefully blocking a main road. This action was taken to demand redress and accountability from Anglo American, which owns the Minas Rio iron ore project, following the mining company’s unauthorised activation of its sirens on Thursday 13th of August 2026.
Communities in Brazil have coined the term ‘Tailings Dam Terrorism’ over mining companies using their alert systems to instil fear among local populations. The alarms, which sound to warn communities of the risk of a tailings dam failure, have been used to displace communities, facilitating the mining operations. In this case, the issue concerns the populations downstream of the tailings dam, the structure containing the mining waste produced at Minas Rio.
Other mining companies accused of terrorising local populations with tailings dam alarm systems include Vale and AngloGold Ashanti, which also operate in the state of Minas Gerais. Tailings dams failures have resulted in mass loss of life and extreme environmental harm in Brazil. The collapse of the Fundão dam in 2015, considered Brazil’s worst environmental crime, preceded the Brumadinho dam failure four years later, which killed 270 people.
Read the manifesto presented by the communities which sets out the demands of their blockade:
Video: Larissa Rabelo Nunes