BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazilian authorities will sign tomorrow a long-awaited reparation deal with miners Vale VALE3.SA, BHP BHP.AX and Samarco over the 2015 Mariana dam collapse, the country’s presidential office said yesterday.
The agreement will be signed in a ceremony attended by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at 9 a.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Oct. 25, Lula’s office said.
Vale, BHP and Samarco said last week that the deal was expected to include a total compensation of 170 billion reais ($29.9 billion), with 100 billion reais of that to be paid through 20 years directly to public authorities.
The collapse of the dam at an iron ore mine owned by Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP, unleashed a wave of tailings in a disaster that killed 19 people, left hundreds homeless, flooded forests and polluted a major river.
The three mining firms have for years been negotiating a compensation agreement with Brazilian authorities, hoping a deal would end several court actions on the matter.
