Vale expects final agreement for Mariana dam reparations in first half of year

Mining company Vale expects to reach a final agreement with authorities for reparations for the collapse of the Samarco tailings dam by the end of the first half of this year, the company told Reuters in a statement on Wednesday.

The collapse of the dam, which belonged to Samarco, a joint venture of Vale and BHP and located in the southeastern city of Mariana, caused a giant mudslide that killed 19 people and severely polluted the Rio Doce river, compromising the waterway to its outlet in the Atlantic Ocean.

A new proposal for an agreement was presented by the mining companies to the federal government and the states of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo, two sources close to the negotiations told Reuters, without giving any figures.

One of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that compared with the previous proposal of 42 billion reais ($8.16 billion), the amount had “improved a lot,” but still “falls short” of what was expected.

Neither Vale, BHP nor Samarco have confirmed they presented a new proposal.

In separate statements, the companies said they are committed in finding a solution for the reparations.

($1 = 5.1471 reais)

(By Marta Nogueira, Ricardo Brito and Steven Grattan; Editing by Leslie Adler)