Posted on October 27, 2025
In January 2019, a tailings dam collapsed in Brumadinho, releasing a large volume of mining residues into the Paraopeba River. As part of the mining company’s recovery program, Construtora Vale Verde is now removing tailings from a 6 km stretch of the river. The toughest areas are where the water is very shallow, the banks unstable and road access is limited. To reach them without building new roads or other temporary works, the team uses an amphibious Watermaster Classic V — the first in Brazil. It reaches and works in the most challenging sections of the river where the rest of the fleet cannot. The goal is to remove the tailings safely so the Paraopeba and the communities along it can recover.
WHERE THE TAILINGS ARE
Most tailings are near the riverbanks on shallow bars and inside bends where the current is slow. They block small water intakes and farm pumps. When water is low, some stretches are too shallow for boats, and local ferries must stop. After rain, the deposits move, muddy the water again, and erode the banks. Muddy water harms fish and plants and lowers water quality for local use.
WHY WATERMASTER IS NEEDED
Vale Verde’s fleet includes work barges with 20-ton excavators, transport barges, a tugboat, a workboat and a cutter-suction dredger (CSD). These are conventional floating units, not amphibious, so they need draft to operate and have limited mobility. They cannot access or work in the most shallow parts of the river.
