Brazil judge ratifies BHP Samarco cleanup settlement

6th May 2016 08:00

(ShareCast News) - BHP Billiton said the Brasilia Federal Court of Appeal had ratified a £3.8bn agreement that would see the company and its joint venture partner Vale pay for the cleanup of the Samarco dam disaster that killed 19 people.The 15 year deal was signed between the two companies and Brazil government, although Federal prosecutors have expressed dissatisfaction with it, calling the payout "insufficient". They have filed a separate £30bn civil suit.A tailings dam burst in November burst at Samarco's Germano iron-ore mine near the town of Mariana in the Minas Gerais state of south-eastern Brazil, devastating a nearby town with mudslides and leaving officials in the remote region scrambling to assess casualties.