Brazilian miner Vale has announced that it intends to make available short-term facilities of up to $115 million to Brazilian pellet producer Samarco, a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Vale and Australian miner BHP Billiton, to support its operations in the first half of 2017. Funds will be released on an as-needed basis and will be subject to Samarco achieving certain milestones.
According to Vale’s statement, BHP Billiton also intends to make available to Samarco short-term facilities with similar terms and conditions as mentioned above. In addition, given Samarco’s current cash flow projections, it is likely that Vale and BHP Billiton will be called upon to fulfill obligations for the restoration of the environment and communities affected by the Samarco dam failure. Accordingly, Vale expects to contribute about $181 million in the first half of 2017 to Samarco.