Vitality and Mining Minister Alexandre Silveira confirmed the story in a Monday interview with native radio broadcaster Itatiaia, primarily based in Minas Gerais state the place the poisonous spill befell.
Past the reparations underneath dialogue, he mentioned the talks additionally cowl some 30 billion reais in remediation the companies would implement themselves, akin to eradicating poisonous mining waste from a neighborhood river.
The collapse of the dam at a Samarco iron ore mine close to the town of Mariana 9 years in the past unleashed a wave of poisonous tailings that killed 19 folks, left tons of homeless, flooded forests and polluted the size of the Doce River.
The miners have already paid out some 37 billion reais on remediation and compensation for the collapse of the tailings dam, Silveira mentioned.
A earlier proposal from the miners, which was not totally accepted by officers, had set a 82 billion reais payout to authorities in new sources plus one other 21 billion reais in repairs the miners would implement.
Vale didn’t point out the quantity of a possible deal in a response to a request for touch upon Monday however repeated that it anticipated to achieve a deal in October.
BHP and Samarco, in the meantime, confirmed the talks have been ongoing in separate statements, including they consider an settlement might be reached quickly.
($1 = 5.5038 reais)
(By Marta Nogueira and Andre Romani; Modifying by David Alire Garcia and Sonali Paul)