Vale SA reached a settlement agreement with Brazilian authorities for a dam collapse that killed 270 people and led to production cutbacks that stripped the company of the title of world’s biggest iron ore producer.
The deal comes two years after the Brumadinho disaster, giving affected communities a clear framework for compensation and reparations and removing a considerable legal overhang for Vale. Its shares were little changed in Sao Paulo.
Vale will pay 37.7 billion reais ($7.03 billion) including cash payments to affected people and investments in environmental projects, the Rio de Janeiro-based company said in a statement. Vale estimates it will book an additional expense of 19.8 billion reais in 2020 results.
“This is the largest reparation agreement ever signed in Latin America in financial terms and with the participation of the state,” and one of the largest in the world, Minas Gerais said in a statement.
The two sides come together after Vale initially presented a value of about 21 billion reais, while Minas Gerais outlined 28 billion reais in material damages plus 26 billion reais in moral damages.
