Vale (NYSE: VALE), BHP (NYSE: BHP; LSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) and their joint venture Samarco, have presented Brazilian authorities with a new offer to settle reparations for the Mariana tailings dam collapse in 2015.
Vale said in a securities filing on Wednesday that the new proposal totals 140 billion reais (US$26.1 billion), including 37 billion reais (US$6.9 billion) already disbursed.
The new offer, which is 13 billion (US$2.4 billion) reais higher than the previous one, marks a significant step forward in the negotiations.
The miners initially offered a total of 127 billion reais (US$25 billion) last December, while the Brazilian government and the affected states had requested 155 billion reais (US$30.6 billion).
In May, Brazil’s government filed a request before a federal court in Minas Gerais state asking that Vale, BHP and Samarco pay 79.6 billion reais (US$15.7 billion) within 15 days.
The dam collapse at the Samarco iron ore mine near the town of Mariana in Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais caused a vast flow of mud and mining waste that buried a nearby village, killing 19 people and leaving hundreds homeless.
The new offer includes a cash payment of 82 billion reais (US$15.3 billion) payable over 20 years to the federal government, the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, and municipalities, and 21 billion reais (US$3.9 billion) in obligations to be fulfilled.
The amounts include a 50% contribution from BHP Brasil and Vale as secondary debtors in case Samarco cannot finance as the primary debtor.
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