Safety is the top priority for Samarco, which has been dedicated to the broad and efficient management of risks and the promotion of a safe and healthy work environment. In addition to accident prevention tools and campaigns, projects and programs are developed to enhance the physical and psychosocial health of employees.
The company strengthened its Integrated Safety System, investing in robust engineering and cutting-edge technology such as the Monitoring and Inspection Center (CMI), for controlling its geotechnical structures 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The CMI has more than a thousand state-of-the-art equipment items, which transmit data in real time to a specialized team, formed by specialist technicians and engineers. Periodic field inspections are also carried out.
Learn about some of the IMC equipment:
Radars: identify minimal variations in displacements on the surfaces of structures
Satellites (InSAR): allow the detection of movements in large areas
Drones: assist in inspections of hard-to-access areas
Piezometers: monitor the internal pressure level of the structures
Inclinometers: measure settlement and horizontal displacements underground
Accelerometers: monitor soil vibrations
Robotic Station: accurately identifies horizontal and vertical displacements
Meteorological Station: monitors climatic conditions
Flow meters: control the volume of water at the outlet of the structures
Radars: identify minimal variations in displacements on the surfaces of structures
Satellites (InSAR): allow the detection of movements in large areas
Drones: assist in inspections of hard-to-access areas
Piezometers: monitor the internal pressure level of the structures
Inclinometers: measure settlement and horizontal displacements underground
Accelerometers: monitor soil vibrations
Robotic Station: accurately identifies horizontal and vertical displacements
Meteorological Station: monitors climatic conditions
Flow meters: control the volume of water at the outlet of the structures
Samarco’s forms of monitoring go beyond those required by law, in accordance with national and international best practices. The dams, which are in the process of being decharacterized/decommissioned, are assessed monthly by independent audits and have a Dam Stability Assessment Statement (DCE).
The company also has an Emergency System guided by the rules and procedures that make up the Emergency Action Plan for Mining Dams (PAEBM), with sirens installed and tested monthly, strengthening the culture of safety and prevention in the communities.
In addition to periodic drills held with its own and contractor employees, Samarco supports municipal Civil Defenses and other agencies in conducting simulations, with the aim of training the population and public institutions on how to proceed in an emergency situation.
Samarco remains firm in its commitment to invest in technologies that enable the disposal of tailings in a safer and more sustainable way. In addition to incorporating new solutions into its production process, it has been developing studies and partnerships to make economic use of the generated waste.
The use of confined reservoirs, without artificially constructed dams, is currently one of the safest ways to dispose of tailings. For this reason, the company carried out adjustment works at the Alegria Sul, in the Germano Complex , a natural solid rock pit containment structure, previously used for the extraction of iron ore.
The pit, a confined space, was expanded through excavation and received two pumping systems, one for receiving the slimes and the other for recovering the water. The structure works as follows: after the desliming and thickening processes, the slimes are directed to the reservoir, where they settle. The water resulting from decantation is pumped for treatment and reuse in the production process.
The Alegria Sul Pit will receive only 20% of the tailings volume. For disposing of the rest, Samarco invested in another innovative and safer solution: the tailings filtration system.
The sandy tailings, which represent 80% of the total waste generated after the processing of iron ore, are pumped from the thickener to filtration plant. With dewatering, there is a high content of solids, which allows dry stacking. As with the material placed in the pit, all the extracted water is recirculated in the production process.
The filtered sandy tailings pile is located close to the pit and has a drainage system that increases its safety. The disposal structures are monitored by instruments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Since 2005, Samarco has been working on studies and alternatives for the use of tailings, both internally and in other markets.
Basically composed of iron ore, silica and water, the tailings are not toxic, corrosive or flammable, being classified as “class II”, in accordance with ABNT NBR 10.004 / 2004. In view of its chemical and physical characteristics, it can become a raw material for different sectors, being used, for example, in the production of encaustic tiles, precast blocks, ceramic artifacts, ferric salts, among other products.
Uses already found for Samarco´s tailings:
In partnership with the startup EcoMud, the slimes generated in the production process can be used as raw material for resistant, low-cost paving, capable of preserving the natural aspect of the soil. The solution has already been applied in some areas of the Germano Complex, in Minas Gerais. As for the sandy tailings, there are advanced studies showing that they can be used in the sub-base and surface of asphalt pavement.
In 2013 and 2014, interlocking blocks made with 30% sandy tailings were used in the paving of the Porto Grande neighborhood, in Guarapari, and in some areas of Samarco’s industrial units.
As it is inorganic, the pigment of the slimes is considered more durable to give color to the wood produced with plastic shavings and plant fibers. Thus, several plastic wooden benches were built for the complexes of Germano and Ubu.
Samarco’s tailings are present in the first urban farm in Latin America, located at Boulevard Shopping, in Belo Horizonte. Based on a partnership established in 2017, the sandy tailings supplied gave rise to interlocking blocks, used in paving the area, and the mud was used in the plastic woods, with which the decks, tables and chairs there were manufactured.
We believe in the importance of joining with other mining companies to learn and seek shared solutions that meet common challenges and also to get closer to other actors involved in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, which can contribute so much to the evolution of our activity.
This connection drives development and results in more knowledge, opportunities and benefits for the whole of society. So, we can in fact do a different mining, generating not only resources, but also sharing value.
Our initiative was launched in 2018, in partnership with the accelerator Neo Ventures and with the support of the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), INCT Midas – project of the National Institute of Science and Technology – and the Nuclear Technology Development Center (CDTN).
The proposal is to shape business and scale solutions to the challenges presented. This is done based on the pre-acceleration of technologies for which the participants carry out technical, socio-environmental and economic feasibility studies, supported by methodology, mentoring, training and interactions with recognized professionals.
The first edition was directly related to two Samarco commitments: take advantage of the generated tailings and support the economic diversification of neighboring municipalities of the Germano (MG) unit, attracting business on the base of the tailings and strengthening the management and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
There were 414 people enrolled and 17 teams formed, each based on a given technology. In the Demoday of the pre-acceleration phase, 13 projects were presented, six of which were chosen for the acceleration and pre-scaling phase and then four went on to the scaling and go to market.
It is the first open innovation hub in the mining sector in the world, with the participation of mining companies, suppliers, startups, researchers, investors and the Brazilian Mining Institute (Ibram).
The objective is to promote connections between companies and society in general, in addition to jointly developing innovative solutions related to topics of great relevance to the industry, such as waste and tailings management, occupational safety and health, social development, management water, alternative energy sources and operational efficiency.
Samarco has been a member of the Mining Hub since its creation in early 2019, and has already sponsored three projects. Two of them have even become success stories for the hub. Kriativar solution enabled us to innovate in dialogue and social engagement, with a focus on preparing communities for the emergency drills provided for in the Emergency Action Plan for Mining Dams (PAEBM). And the technology developed by Geolabor is being used in the geotechnical control of the stack of sandy tailings filtered in the Germano Complex.
This is a business area of the Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais (Fiemg) that brings companies closer to startups, aiming at developing scalable and technological-based solutions for the demands of the various industrial sectors.
Thus, the Fiemg Lab contributes to a new configuration of the business environment in Minas, promoting more diversification, productivity and competitiveness.
Samarco is also part of the innovation hub of the Espírito Santo industry, an initiative of the Federation of Industries of the State of Espírito Santo (Findes) and the National Service for Industrial Learning (Senai).
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