Vale, BHP Propose New $26 Billion Reparations Deal for 2015 Dam Collapse

Mining companies Vale and BHP, along with their joint venture Samarco, have proposed a $26.09 billion reparations deal to Brazilian authorities for the 2015 tailings dam collapse. The offer includes already disbursed funds and spans over 20 years for federal and state payments, falling short of Brazil's 12-year demand.

Mining giants Vale and BHP and their joint venture Samarco have presented Brazilian authorities with a new offer to settle reparations for a tailings dam collapse in 2015, Vale said in a securities filing on Wednesday.

The new proposal totals 140 billion reais ($26.09 billion), including 37 billion reais already disbursed in reparation measures, Vale said, confirming an earlier report from local newspaper O Globo. The total offer is 13 billion reais higher than the previous one that was rejected by Brazil, but did not meet the 109 billion sought by the government, excluding the amount already spent by the miners.

The miners have instead offered 82 billion reais to be paid to the federal government and the impacted Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo states over 20 years, and 21 billion reais to be used for settling future obligations. The Brazilian authorities were seeking a 12-year period for the payments to be made.

The dam collapse at a Samarco iron ore mine near Mariana, Minas Gerais in November 2015 created a vast flow of mud and mining waste that buried a nearby village, killing 19 people, leaving hundreds homeless and polluting the Doce River, a major waterway that flows through neighboring Espirito Santo. Brazil's solicitor general's office, which is participating in the talks, said it would analyze the fresh proposal.

($1 = 5.3656 reais)

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