Brazilian miner and iron ore producer Vale announced this week a court in the state of Minas Gerais dismessed a BRL 155 billion ($49.9 billion) lawsuit filed by prosecutors.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, Vale, Samarco and BHP Billiton were close to dismissing the lawsuit after signing in January two separate preliminary agreements with public prosecutors.
Vale said the Minas Gerais state court partially approved this week a provisional adjustment term that Vale, along with Samarco and BHP Billiton, signed in January, which aims to define the proceedings and the timeline of the company’s negotiations with the public prosecutors for a further final adjustment term.
In addition to the dismissal of the lawsuit, another BRL 20 billion ($6.44 billion) lawsuit filed by the Brazilian government and the states of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo was also dismissed.
However, instead of being dismissed outright, the various cases will be concentrated under a single lawsuit.
“This is an important decision that recognizes the case’s complexity and the importance of a solution reached by consensus as the effective way of adopting the necessary steps to remediate all the impacts of the dam burst,” Vale said.