Brazilian pellet producer Samarco, a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Vale and BHP Billiton, agreed with federal prosecutors to hire experts to independently analyze the damages caused by the Mariana disaster in November last year, which killed 19 people and forced Samarco to halt production.
Federal prosecutors are demanding BRL 155 billion ($46.3 billion) for the damages Samarco caused to the environment; at the same time Samarco is struggling to get the operational licenses it needs to restart operations.
In a court hearing this week, Samarco and federal prosecutors met but didn’t agree on the lawsuit’s value, which is seen by Samarco, BHP Billiton and Vale as too high.
In addition to the expert’s analyses, Samarco also agreed to hire an audit to evaluate the company’s relationship with the affected communities. In the court hearing, a judge determined Samarco should have 11 public hearings with the affected communities.