
Vale: Samarco investment 'reduced to zero'
Investment by Brazilian iron ore miner Vale in pellet-maker Samarco "was reduced to zero," the former said in its 2015 results report.
And no liability was recognized in the document.
Operations at Samarco were suspended following a dam collapse in November at its Germano mine, near the city of Mariana, Minas Gerais state, which resulted in at least 17 deaths and widespread pollution.
Samarco is a 50:50 JV between Vale and fellow mining heavyweight BHP Billiton.
"The dam failure had no effect on Vale's cash flow for the year ended December 31 2015," the company said.
"Vale accounts for Samarco's results under the equity method, and, therefore, the impacts of Samarco's dam failure on Vale's balance sheet and income statement are limited to Vale's interest in Samarco's capital as per the Brazilian corporation law," Vale said.
The mining giant said it had been "summoned" by Brazil's federal government, the state governments of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo and other entities in a public civil action filed at a federal court in Minas Gerais state capital Belo Horizonte.
The action, which was brought against Samarco and its shareholders, BHP Billiton and Vale, requests a "freeze on transfer of the mining rights of the three respondents, without, however, limiting their commercial and production activities and ii) remediation of the damages caused by the failure of the Samarco Fundão dam," Vale said. "The claimants valued the action at 20.2bn reais [around US$5bn]. Vale has adopted the necessary measures to guarantee its right of defense."
On Tuesday, BHP Billiton recognized a total after tax charge of US$858mn relating to the Samarco dam failure.
The Australian miner also announced on its quarterly release it had written down to zero its investment in Samarco.
***
UPCOMING BNAMERICAS EVENTS
5TH Mexico Infrastructure Summit
Click here to see the agenda and speakers
4TH Mexico Oil & Gas Summit
Click here to see the agenda and speakers
Subscribe to the most trusted business intelligence platform in Latin America. Let us show you our solutions for Suppliers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance.
News in: Mining & Metals (Brazil)

Altamira Gold Drills 45m @ 1.4 g/t Gold and 50m @ 1.1 g/t Gold from surface at the New Maria Bonita Discovery, Caju...
And it confirms continuity and consistency of mineralization

BNDES publishes notice for diamond mine sale
The Brazilian development bank took control of the asset in Minas Gerais after former owner Exdibra failed to pay off a debt.
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects in: Mining & Metals (Brazil)
Get critical information about thousands of Mining & Metals projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.
- Project: Volta Grande
- Current stage:
- Updated:
7 months ago
- Project: Ouro Natividade
- Current stage:
- Updated:
7 months ago
- Project: Diamante Santo Inácio
- Current stage:
- Updated:
7 months ago
- Project: Agrominerais Aveiro
- Current stage:
- Updated:
7 months ago
- Project: Capim Grosso
- Current stage:
- Updated:
7 months ago
- Project: Vila Nova
- Current stage:
- Updated:
7 months ago
- Project: União
- Current stage:
- Updated:
7 months ago
- Project: Ceará (ex Solonopole)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
7 months ago
- Project: Aripuanã
- Current stage:
- Updated:
6 months ago
- Project: Viga Norte
- Current stage:
- Updated:
7 months ago
Other companies in: Mining & Metals (Brazil)
Get critical information about thousands of Mining & Metals companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: SMC Automação do Brasil Ltda.  (SMC Brasil)
-
The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...
- Company: Yara Brasil Fertilizantes S.A.  (Yara Fertilizantes)
-
Yara Brasil Fertilizantes S.A. (Yara Fertilizantes) the Brazilian subsidiary of Norwegian fertilizer firm Yara International SAS established in 1977 in Porto Alegre, is engaged ...
- Company: NALCO Water
-
Ecolab is a trusted partner at nearly three million customer locations, Ecolab (ECL) is a global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect peopl...
- Company: Mineração Río do Norte S.A.  (MRN)
-
Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN) is a Brazilian firm that operates the country's largest bauxite mine, an open-cut operation located in Porto Trombetas, Pará state, in the Amazon re...
- Company: AMG Mineração S.A.  (AMG Mineração)
-
AMG Mineração S.A., branch in Brazil of the Neetherlander firm Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. (AMG) established in 1945 as MIBRA – Cia Estanho Minas Brasil with head office i...
- Company: Paranapanema S.A.  (Paranapanema)
-
Metal products manufacturer Paranapanema is a Brazilian refined copper producer and also a major manufacturer of semi-finished copper products and alloys. The company has a prod...
- Company: Horizonte Minerals do Brasil Ltda  (HM do Brasil)
-
HM do Brasil Ltda. is a mineral exploration company owned by London-based Horizonte Minerals Plc. through its holding company HM Brazil Ltd. The Brazilian unit manages the Falcã...