25th Oct 2024 17:05
(Alliance News) - The settlement of a lawsuit involving BHP Group Ltd in Brazil is a first step in an ongoing battle to seek justice for victims of the Fundao dam disaster in 2015, the law firm representing 600,000 claimants in England.
Pogust Goodhead Global Managing Partner & Chief Executive Officer Tom Goodhead was reacting to an agreement that will see BHP and Vale SA pay BRL170 billion, or USD31.7 billion, for the dam collapse.
The tailings dam was operated by Samarco Mineracao SA, a 50-50 joint venture of BHP and Vale.
"The deal with the Brazilian authorities only serves to highlight exactly why the proceedings in the English courts are so critical," Goodhead said.
"The victims have not been consulted on the deal and parts of the reparations will be spread over 20 years," Goodhead said, adding: "It is therefore simply a first step in an ongoing battle for justice and adequate compensation for Brazil’s worst environmental disaster."
The trial for BHP in England started on Monday this week.
Goodhead said the legal case in the UK will publicly hold BHP to account and set a precedent; making it more difficult for multinational corporations more broadly to neglect their responsibility to the communities in which they operate.
"We must remember that in the immediate aftermath, BHP made insulting offers as low as USD200 to people who had their lives destroyed in the disaster. This approach mirrors that of the Post Office scandal in the UK, where victims were offered negligible amounts of compensation after waiting for many years," he said.
BHP said on Friday the settlement aligned with its provision for the 2024 financial year, amounting to USD6.5 billion to cover the dam collapse obligations.
The agreement delivers a full and final settlement of the framework agreement obligations, the Federal Public Prosecution Office claim and other claims by the public authorities linked to the dam failure, BHP said in a statement on Friday.
The mine said the agreement builds on the existing remediation and compensation work already performed, totalling about USD7.9 billion.
BHP said Samarco will make first payment 30 days after the court confirms the agreement and subsequent payments will become payable in six months after the first payment and annually thereafter for a total of 20 years.
BHP and Vale face other class action lawsuits in Australia, the UK, and the Netherlands. The trial for BHP in the UK started on Monday this week.
Shares in BHP were up 1.7% at 2,185.00 pence in London on Friday afternoon, and up 1.7% at ZAR501.00 in Johannesburg.
By Artwell Dlamini, Alliance News reporter
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