Vale tailings dam collapses in Brazil's Minas Gerais state

A tailings dam operated by Brazilian mining giant Vale collapsed in Minas Gerais state on Friday.

The dam is in Brumadinho municipality, in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, capital of the state.

"Vale reports that a breach of a dam at the Mina Feijão in Brumadinho occurred earlier this afternoon. The first information indicates that the tailings reached the administrative area of the company and part of the Vila Ferteco community," the company said in a short statement.

"There is still no confirmation as to whether there are injuries. Vale has activated the fire department and activated its emergency response plan for dams," it added.

The company's ADRs on the New York Stock Exchange were down 6.93% to US$13.83 after the report of the collapse. Brazil's stock exchange was closed on Friday, due to a local holiday in São Paulo, where the exchange is based.

The dam collapse comes just over three years after the notorious November 2015 Samarco dam failure, which killed 19 people and has come to be considered Brazil's worst ever environmental disaster.

Samarco is a pellet making joint venture between BHP and Vale. Tailings and sludge flowed hundreds of kilometers and polluted the Doce river (pictured), in Minas Gerais state, before reaching the sea.