Brazil Mine Disaster Company Settles For $6.1 Billion

BRAZIL MINE DISASTER COMPANY SETTLES FOR $6.1 BILLION

Brasmlia—The owners of an iron ore mine in Brazil where a burst dam spewed a toxic flood, flattening a village and killing 19 people, settled with the government Wednesday for $6.1 billion.

Representatives of Samarco—co-owned by Brazil’s Vale iron ore giant and the Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company—signed the accord in the capital Brasilia. President Dilma Rousseff said the settlement would help heal “a tragedy without precedent.” The funds, which will go toward social and environmental damages, will be paid out over 15 years. The November 5 accident near Mariana in Minas Gerais state began when a tailings dam at Samarco’s mine failed, unleashing the flood of polluted water and mud into the River Doce, one of the most important in Brazil.