Sierra Leone woos miners to clean energy with $11 billion plan
Most mining firms rely on their own diesel supplies to extract iron ore, diamonds, rutile and bauxite in the resource-rich country.
BHP has agreed to fund a total of up to US$181 million (BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda (BHP Brasil) share) in financial support for the Renova Foundation and Samarco Mineração S.A. (Samarco) until 30 June 2018.
An amount of US$133 million will be used to fund the Renova Foundation to undertake remediation and compensation programs identified under the agreement dated 2 March 2016 between Samarco, Vale S.A., BHP Brasil and the Brazilian Authorities. This amount will be offset against the Group’s provision for the Samarco dam failure.
An amount of US$48 million will be made available to Samarco. This amount includes a short-term facility of up to US$42 million (BHP Brasil’s share) to carry out ongoing repair works, maintain Samarco’s facilities and support restart planning, and an amount of US$6 million to cover fees payable to experts appointed in connection with the remediation and compensation programs. Funds will be released to Samarco only as required, and subject to achievement of key milestones.
