BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) says it will provide financial support to its Brazilian iron ore mining operation and a foundation set up to handle compensation programs in the wake of the catastrophic dam failure more than a year and a half ago.
BHP will use US$174M to fund the foundation, which would be offset against the provision for the dam collapse, and $76M in short-term credit facilities to support its Samarco joint venture with Vale (NYSE:VALE) through the second half of the year.
Vale will extend the same amount in support of Samarco, which halted operations in late 2015 after a dam burst that killed 19 people and polluted hundreds of miles of rivers in southeast Brazil's Rio Doce basin.
Also, BHP says a Brazilian court has provided four days to negotiate a settlement to a $47M claim stemming from the Samarco disaster.
Source: Seeking Alpha
