Brazilian pellet producer Samarco, a 50/50 joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton, has agreed to pay BRL 4.4 billion ($1.09 billion) in three years in environmental recovery efforts for the Doce river, which was heavily damaged by a deadly iron ore waste dam burst in November.
EBC, Brazil’s government news agency, said the deal should be signed on Monday and should then be approved by a Brazilian court.
EBC said the announced BRL 4.4 billion deal is provisional. Clean up of the Doce river should take about 10 years. As the recovery takes place, new calculations will be made, demanding more investments from Samarco.
The funds will finance about 40 projects related to the social and environmental recovery of the cities affected by the disaster. Samarco should deposit BRL 2 billion this year, plus other two deposits of BRL 1.2 billion in 2017 and 2018.
Meanwhile, Samarco has requested a license to store mining tailings from the environment secretariat of the state of Minas Gerais. The move is Samarco’s first attempt to resume operations in Minas Gerais.