Mine in Brazil dam tragedy unlikely to reopen this year

Operations at a Brazilian mine where 19 people died in a dam collapse are unlikely to restart this year, commodities giant BHP said Friday, as it offered $250 million towards clean-up and compensation programmes.

The tragedy in November 2015 was the country's worst environmental disaster, with operator Samarco facing billions of dollars in legal claims for clean-up costs and damages.

BHP -- which co-owns Samarco with Brazil's Vale -- cited the need for government and regulatory approvals, state licences, safety and economic considerations as well as a restructuring of the operator's debt before the mine could be reopened.

"Accordingly, operations at Samarco are unlikely to restart in (calendar year) 2017," the world's biggest miner said in a statement.

It added that about $174 million of the $250 million would be used to fund remediation and compensation schemes, while the rest would be made available to Samarco for its environmental programmes.

A deal with Brazilian prosecutors to negotiate the settlement of a 155 billion reals ($46.9 billion) claim over the collapse, which expired Friday, was extended until October 30, BHP added.

The tragedy was caused when waste reservoirs at an iron ore mine burst open, unleashing a sea of muck that flattened the nearby village of Bento Rodrigues.

source: AFP