BHP: Australian Court Approves Samarco Class Action Settlement Linked To Dam Collapse In Brazil

(RTTNews) - Mining giant BHP Group Ltd. (BHP, BLT.L, BHP.AX, BHP.L) announced Friday that the Federal Court of Australia approved its settlement of the shareholder class action over the Samarco Mineracao SA joint venture linked to the dam collapse in Brazil.

The class action, filed in 2018, involves shareholders who acquired BHP shares between August 8, 2012, and November 9, 2015, before the Fundão Dam failure in Brazil. The dam was owned and operated by Samarco joint venture, equally owned by BHP Brazil, a subsidiary of BHP, and Vale S.A.

BHP Group on September 9 had announced its agreement to pay A$110 million to settle the class action lawsuit, subject to approval by the Federal Court of Australia.

The agreed settlement payment includes interest and costs, with no admission of liability. The company then had said that it expects to recover most of the settlement amount from insurers.

BHP and its JV partner Vale in October last year had reached an agreement with Brazilian authorities for both mining groups to pay around $31.7 billion related to the dam collapse in 2015.

In London, BHP Group shares were trading at 2,221.00 pence, up 1.65 percent, and its gaining 0.7 percent in the pre-market activity on the NYSE at $59.36.

In Australia, the shares closed Friday's regular trading at A$44.84, up 0.76 percent.