Agreement on Dam Collapse Settlement

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Mining companies Vale and BHP, along with their joint venture Samarco, are nearing a potential agreement with Brazilian authorities to pay approximately 100 billion reais (USD 17.87 billion) for the collapse of a dam in Mariana, according to four sources familiar with the discussions.

Three of the sources anticipate that a final agreement could be reached in October.

This proposed amount exceeds the 82 billion reais in new resources offered in the companies’ previous proposal in June to compensate for the 2015 disaster, which resulted in a wave of toxic tailings that killed 19 individuals, displaced hundreds, flooded forests, and polluted a river.

($1 = 5.5955 reais)