A court in the state of Minas Gerais suspended for an undefined period of time a BRL 155 billion ($49 billion) lawsuit against iron ore pellet producer Samarco.
The lawsuit was filed by the Ministerio Public Federal (MPF), a body of public prosecutors, following a deadly iron ore dam burst in November 2015, which killed 19 people and halted production at Samarco, which is co-owned by Vale and BHP Billiton.
Samarco also faces another BRL 20 billion ($6.03 billion) lawsuit from the Brazilian government at a federal level. Vale said the judge gave Samarco and its shareholders an October 30, 2017 deadline for the parties involved to reach a settlement.