By Maxwell Radwin A civil trial began October 21 to determine whether several mining companies are liable for the collapse of a dam that released toxic sludge into communities in rural Brazil, resulting in one of the worst environmental disasters in the country’s history. The class action lawsuit, filed in the U.K., will decide whether the Fundão tailings dam collapse was the fault of mining companies Broken Hill Proprietary (BHP) and Miners Vale, which may have to pay billions of dollars in compensation to affected individuals. “Our legal case will publicly hold BHP to account and set a prece…