https://www.miningweekly.com

BHP seeks approval for $50m US pact over fatal Brazil dam burst

20th September 2018

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

NEW YORK –  BHP Billiton has asked a US judge to approve a $50-million settlement of claims that it fraudulently inflated its share price by overstating its ability to manage safety risks before a fatal 2015 dam burst at a Brazilian mine.

The Anglo-Australian mining company's preliminary settlement of class-action litigation led by two Alabama pension plans was filed on Wednesday night with the US District Court in Manhattan.

It would resolve shareholder claims stemming from the November 5, 2015 bursting of the Fundão dam in Minas Gerais, Brazil's main mining state, at a mine run by Samarco, a joint venture between BHP and Brazil's Vale SA.

The disaster unleashed huge quantities of mud and waste that destroyed a nearby village and killed 19 people.

BHP denied wrongdoing in settling with investors in its American depositary receipts led by the City of Birmingham Retirement and Relief System and the City of Birmingham Firemen's and Policemen's Supplemental Pension System.

It is unclear how much of the payout is covered by insurance. BHP did not immediately respond on Thursday to a request for comment.

The settlement covered ADR investors from September 25, 2014, when BHP touted its focus on safety in a regulatory filing, and November 30, 2015, when Brazil sued BHP and Vale for 20-billion reais (US4.87-billion). That case settled in June.

In a court filing, the plaintiffs' lawyers led by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd said they may seek up to $15-million from the settlement fund to cover legal fees.

The case is In re BHP Billiton Securities Litigation, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-01445.

Edited by Reuters

Comments

Showroom

Booyco Electronics
Booyco Electronics

Booyco Electronics, South African pioneer of Proximity Detection Systems, offers safety solutions for underground and surface mining, quarrying,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Actom image
Actom

Your one-stop global energy-solution partner

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Photo of Martin Creamer
On-The-Air (12/04/2024)
12th April 2024 By: Martin Creamer
Magazine round up | 12 April 2024
Magazine round up | 12 April 2024
12th April 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.209 0.242s - 90pq - 2rq
1:
1: United States
Subscribe Now
2: United States
2: