BHP Billiton said it does not intend to sell its stake in Samarco, a Brazilian pellet producer it co-owns with Vale. According to a media report by CNN Brazil, selling Samarco’s 50 percent stake is not a “priority or intention” for the company.
“(BHP Billiton) has existing resources for another 30, 40, 50 years,” said Simon Duncombe, vice-president Brazil of non-operated joint ventures at BHP Billiton.
BHP Billiton said the company’s intent was to avoid Samarco’s bankruptcy protection and close an extrajudicial settlement for the Mariana dam disaster in November 2015, which halted operations at Samarco for years.
Ivan Apsan, BHP Billiton’s vice-president of legal and corporate affairs, said recent changes in Brazilian bankruptcy regulations made the company change its approach to the matter. As a result, BHP Billiton and Vale have filed for bankruptcy protection.
“We didn’t want Samarco’s bankruptcy protection plan to became a pilot project for a new regulation,” Apsan said.