LAPFF writes to Vale following Brazilian dam disaster

The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPPF) has written to Vale and its joint venture partner BHP Billiton over concerns regarding the Brazilian dam collapse, which is feared to have killed more than 300 people.

In a series of tweets, LAPFF said that it had raised responsibilities of senior partner companies for the actions of joint ventures partnerships, particularly regarding Brazilian dam strategies.

The correspondence follows the collapse of dam in Brumadinho on Friday, 25 January, which has led to the deaths of 84 people, with around 276 people still missing.

The LAPFF said it holding meetings in order to review the responses. Pensions Age has contacted the group for comment.

It follows moves from a number of European pension funds, including Danish fund MP Pension, which have placed Vale in quarantine after the disaster.

This means that the fund is not allowed to invest further in Vale, owner of the burst dam, before a series of issues have been investigated and solved. At the moment, MP Pension has DKK 49m (£5.8m) invested in Vale.

The recent disaster comes three years after another BHP Billiton and Vale operated dam burst in Minas Gerais, the same state as Brumadinho, which led to it putting its joint venture under review, according to a Financial Times report.

The joint venture reached a final compensation payment to the 19 relatives that were killed in November last year.

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