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BHP to pay US$211mln to foundation tasked with Samarco disaster rehabilitation

Published: 10:21 29 Jun 2018 BST

BHP
BHP and Vale have struck a deal with Brazilian authorities over the Samarco accident

BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT) has agreed to pay US$211mln to the Renova Foundation, which was set up to support victims of the Samarco mining disaster in Brazil.

In November 2015, a dam at the Samarco mine co-owned by BHP and Brazilian company Vale burst, leaving 19 people dead and destroying two villages.

Of the total financial support BHP is to provide the Renova Foundation, US$158mln will go towards funding remediation and compensation programmes identified under an agreement with Brazilian authorities.

This will be offset against BHP’s provision for the dam failure.

READ: BHP Billiton extends fall after disappointing first-half results as two heavyweight brokers downgrade

The rest of the payment will be used to carry out ongoing repair works, maintain Samarco’s facilities and support restart planning.

On Wednesday, BHP and Vale struck a deal with Brazilian authorities to settle a lawsuit related to the disaster.

The miners have signed an agreement to suspend a 155 billion real civil claim for two years and scrap a separate 20bn real claim brought by the state government.

The deal paves the way for BHP and Vale to restructure Samarco and re-apply for a licence to resume work at the site. 

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