A state court in Minas Gerais has frozen the assets of Samarco, Vale and BHP Billiton, following a deadly iron ore waste dam burst in November.
Following a request of the Public Ministry in the state of Minas Gerais (MPMG), a body of public prosecutors, a state court in Minas Gerais decided to block BRL 475 million from the three companies so the habitants of Barra Longa, which is about 90 kilometers away from Mariana city could be compensated for the damages caused by Samarco.
A media report said the decision is dated February this year, however, there has not been any official confirmation that the freeze in the companies’ assets already took place.
This is the second freeze in Vale’s assets.
In December last year, a judge also in the state of Minas Gerais froze the assets of BHP Billiton and Vale, as pellets producer Samarco, the JV owned by the two iron ore producers, didn’t have funds to pay for the damages.
At the time, the judge blocked the granting of exploration licenses for the two companies in Brazil.
A media report said February’s ruling freezes BRL 470 million of assets owned by Vale and BRL 1.8 million linked to BHP Billiton.