Rio de Janeiro — It came down to the wire, but BHP, Vale and their Samarco joint venture managed to close a deal with prosecutors that distances the companies from 175-billion Brazillian reals (about R742bn) in lawsuits. Their lawyers filed documents late on Thursday requesting that the presiding judge suspend two civil suits. The judge had given the two sides until Friday night to come to an agreement on how to move forward with the remaining clean-up efforts and reparations after a deadly tailings dam spill in 2015. Samarco first tried to address compensation in March 2016 when then President Dilma Rousseff held a signing ceremony for an accord that the federal government hashed out with the companies. But prosecutors in Minas Gerais state saw the federal deal as insufficient, filing suit even as the companies moved ahead with the clean-up and set up a foundation to handle payments. As part of Thursday’s arrangement, the two sides were seeking another 150 days to fine-tune primari...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.