LatinNews Daily - 30 April 2024

*The owners of mining company Samarco, a joint venture between Brazilian mining firm Vale and Australian company BHP, have submitted a new offer to compensate the damages from the high-profile disaster in 2015 caused by a burst tailings dam operated by Samarco near the town of Mariana, Minas Gerais state. The mining giants have offered to pay a settlement of R$127bn (US$25bn), which is due to be reviewed by federal and state authorities in Brazil. However, reports in the Brazilian media suggest that organisations representing the victims are not satisfied with the latest settlement offer. UK-headquartered law firm Pogust Goodhead, which represents some of the victims, is cited in the press as arguing that the offered sum would not cover the claims of the 700,000 victims whose case against BHP is being heard at a court in London. The firm also highlighted that this offer is being negotiated with Brazilian government entities but the victims themselves have not been included in the discussions. Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB), a Brazilian organisation which advocates for the victims of dam disasters, described the latest offer as an insult to “the intelligence of the Brazilian people” and urged authorities to reject the proposed settlement.