Financial Times (Reino Unido) – BHP pays $50m to settle US case as Brazil dam talks continue

MEIO AMBIENTE E ENERGIA

Financial Times (Reino Unido) – BHP pays $50m to settle US case as Brazil dam talks continue

Edward White in Taipei

BHP Billiton has agreed to pay a group of shareholders $50m to settle a class action related to the 2015 Samarco dam disaster, as the mining giant continues to negotiate a $41bn civil claim in Brazil.

The Anglo-Australian company and Brazil's Vale own the Samarco mine, where a tailings dam failed in November 2015 resulting in the death of 19 people and causing widespread environmental damage.

ASX-listed BHP said on Thursday that it had agreed to pay plaintiffs in a US class action complaint $50m "with no admission of liability". The case was brought on behalf of purchasers of American depositary receipts between September 25, 2014 and November 30, 2015. The agreement remains subject to court approval.

Separately, the company announced a key agreement inked in June with Brazilian federal and state prosecutors, which allows it and Vale a two-year process to settle the broader R$155bn ($41bn) civil claim, was ratified on Wednesday by a Brazilian federal court.

BHP shares were down 0.5 per cent in Sydney on Thursday while the broader S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2 per cent.