Brazil's Vale, Minas Gerais state close to $7 billion disaster settlement

Brazilian miner Vale SA and authorities in the state of Minas Gerais said on Wednesday they have defined potential settlement terms regarding a 2019 mining disaster, with a source saying the deal is worth about 37 billion reais ($6.89 billion).

A dam containing mining waste burst in January 2019 at a Vale facility in the town of Brumadinho in Minas Gerais, releasing a torrent of sludge that killed some 270 people.

In a statement, Minas Gerais officials, alongside state and federal prosecutors, said the terms would be further discussed at a meeting set for Thursday, when a deal could potentially be signed. Neither Vale nor the officials commented on the value of the deal.

A person familiar with the negotiations, declining to be identified as the talks are closed, told Reuters the current terms involve Vale spending about 37 billion reais to compensate for the disaster.

Vale shares rose after authorities announced a deal was close and were up more than 3% in afternoon trading, compared with a rise of roughly 1% in the overall Bovespa index.