Vale, a 50 percent owner of local pellet producer Samarco, said it will appeal a $44 billion (BRL 155 billion) lawsuit filed by Brazil’s MPF, a body of public prosecutors, against Vale, Samarco, BHP Billiton and other federal and state entities.
Vale said the amount asked for MPF “wasn’t determined accordingly to the accident of Samarco’s [iron ore waste] dam, but through an unfounded comparison with an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.”
According to the co-owner of the JV, it will “adopt all measures to guarantee its right of defense within the legal deadlines.”
A lawyer contracted by Vale to defend the company in the case said the indemnity is “disproportional” and “irresponsible.”
Samarco has received over BRL 430 million in fines, according to media estimates, which don’t include a BRL 20 billion deal reached with Brazilian government.
A media report said Samarco didn’t pay the fines, as it’s appealing all of them. Samarco posted an $1.67 billion net loss in 2015.