Brazil's Vale SA mining swung to a US$1.64 Billion first-quarter net loss as it tallies the damage from the collapse of its Brumadinho tailings dam earlier this year.

The world's top iron ore miner was forced to set aside almost $5 Billion to deal with the costs.  The dam collapse last January caused a massive torrent of red, toxic muck to blast down a valley.  It killed at least 237 people, most of them buried alive.

Payments to victims' families and estimated out-of-court settlements for various damages related to the collapse accounted for $2.42 Billion of the charges.  Another $1.86 Billion for shutting down dams to avoid a repeat of the disaster.

Quarterly revenue fell 4.6 percent to $8.2 Billion because of weaker sales caused by several key mines being taken offline in the wake of the disaster.