Brazil rejects Vale, BHP settlement offer for Mariana disaster
World
Brazil rejects Vale, BHP settlement offer for Mariana disaster
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil and the state of Espirito Santo have rejected a proposal by miners Vale (VALE3.SA), opens new tab and BHP (BHP.AX), opens new tab regarding reparations for the deadly 2015 Mariana tailings dam burst, the federal government said on Friday.
Vale, BHP and their joint venture Samarco had earlier this week presented authorities with an offer to pay a total of 127 billion reais ($25.03 billion) as reparations for the dam collapse, including 37 billion reais already disbursed.
The offer, however, "does not represent an advance" from the firms' previous proposal in December and contains "inadmissible conditions," the office of Brazil's solicitor general said in a statement.
The November 2015 dam collapse at the Samarco iron ore mine near the town of Mariana, Minas Gerais state, caused a vast flow of mud and mining waste that buried a nearby village, killing 19 people, leaving hundreds homeless and polluting a major river that flows through Espirito Santo.
