Market analysts at BTG Pactual expect Brazilian miner and iron ore producer Vale to pay “big” dividends this year.
The analysts' confidence that Vale will better reward shareholders in 2021 follows the recent restart of Samarco, a Brazilian pellet producer owned by Vale and BHP Billiton. Samarco halted operations in November 2015, following a deadly iron ore waste dam burst in Mariana, Brazil, which killed 19 people. Samarco resumed activities in mid-December 2020.
BTG Pactual estimated Vale could pay as much as $10 billion in dividends to shareholders. The analysts said Samarco’s halt cost about $600 million to Vale in 2020 alone.
The BTG Pactual analysts said the restart of Samarco’s activities is a good “upside” for Vale in terms of cash flow.