More Brazilian woes for BHP
BHP Billiton and Vale’s court sanctioned agreement to pay $5.6 billion over 5 years to cover repairs after a dam burst is set aside.
|||Johannesburg - BHP Billiton and Vale’s court sanctioned agreement with the government of Brazil to pay $5.6 billion over 5 years to cover repairs after a dam burst has been set aside.
The deal was reached in March, after a dam burst at the joint venture Samarco, devastating the villages of Mariana, Barra Longa and Rio Doce, affecting, more than 52 000 people.
The court sanctioned the agreement on May 5.
Read also: Judge dismisses civil suit against Samarco
In a statement issued to shareholders on Friday, mining giant BHP explains the Federal Prosecutors’ Office appealed against a May 5 court ratification of the agreement.
As a result, on Juen 30, the Superior Court of Justice in Brazil issued an interim order suspending the Federal Court of Appeal’s ratification of the agreement.
The effect of the suspension of the agreement is to reinstate a $5.7 billion lawsuit brought against Samarco, BHP and Vale by federal prosecutors.
BHP does not detail what the effect of the reinstatement of the lawsuit will be, but notes it will - through its Brazilian unit - appeal the Superior Court’s decision.
IOL