Judge blocks Vale, BHP Billiton assets
Rousseff sees approval rating improve slightly
BRASILIA, Dec 20, (Agencies): A judge has blocked the Brazilian assets of mining giants Vale and BHP Billiton to make sure they pay reparations for the toxic waste dam burst that killed 17 in November.
The Brazilian and Anglo-Australian mining companies are joint owners of Samarco, a firm that operated an iron ore tailings dam that burst in Minas Gerais state on Nov 5.
The accident unleashed a tsunami of toxic waste that buried a nearby village, then rushed into the Doce, Brazil’s second most important river, ravaging flora and fauna for some 800 kilometers.
The sludge reached the Atlantic 17 days later, where it soiled beaches and damaged sea life.
The accident is considered Brazil’s worst ever environmental disaster.
Brazil plans to sue Vale and BHP Billiton for $5.2 billion for clean-up costs and damages relating to the disaster.
In the ruling issued Friday, a Minas Gerais judge said that Samarco did not have enough money for the full cleanup and compensation, but that the parent companies could be held responsible.
Deposit
“In 30 days, the companies should make an initial deposit of two million reais (about $502,000) to carry out the full recovery plan,” the judge ruled, according to the state news agency ECB.
The companies also have 45 days to present a plan to address the social and environmental impact of the accident.
Vale and BHP Billiton will be fined $37,000 a day if they fail to comply, the ruling said. Samarco was also banned from distributing dividends or other earnings to shareholders.
A BHP spokesman said in a statement Sunday that it could not comment on the ruling as the miner had yet to receive formal notification of the decision.
“We are committed to supporting Samarco to rebuild the community and restore the environment affected by the breach of Samarco’s Fundao and Santarem tailings dams, in the state of Minas Gerais on 5 November 2015,” the spokesman added.
Global ratings agency Moody’s on Friday placed the credit ratings of BHP on review for possible downgrades amid persistent weaknesses in commodity prices.
BHP’s share price has fallen more than 40 percent on the Australian Securities Exchange this year.
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A poll published Saturday in Brazil gave a mild boost to the political survival prospects for President Dilma Rousseff, as she saw a slight bounce in her approval ratings, halting what has been an almost continuous slide for most of the year.
The number of Brazilians who rated Rousseff’s administration “bad” or “very bad” fell to 65 percent, from 71 percent in August, according to a Datafolha poll conducted from Dec 16 to 17 and published by newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
Rousseff is under pressure as Brazil is undergoing its worst recession in at least 25 years and a corruption scandal at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA which has led to the arrest of numerous high-profile executives and politicians.
As the president fights moves by the opposition to impeach her, the proportion of people who want her to resign or be impeached also fell. Those wanting Rousseff to resign fell to 56 percent compared to 62 percent in November, while 60 percent want the president impeached, down from 65 percent in November.
It caps off a relatively good week for Rousseff, after two rulings from the Supreme Court on Thursday improved her chances of blocking an impeachment bid by opponents seeking to oust the unpopular leftist leader.
Meanwhile, her nemesis, speaker of the lower house Eduardo Cunha, who is fighting accusations of corruption, saw his popularity remain near rock bottom, with 82 percent of people polled saying he should be stripped of his mandate.