VALE: Samarco To Resume Operations Eventually

(RTTNews) - There is no forecast for Samarco, Vale's joint venture with Australia's BHP Billiton in Brazil, to restart operations, said Fabio Schvartsman, the Brazilian mining company CEO.

According to him, Samarco will come back "sometime," but it is still not possible to predict a date due to the environmental permits that it needs to obtain.

The executive also said that Vale has a good relationship with BHP and its chairman and that they continue talking to find a solution to the problems faced by Samarco.

Samarco halted its operations at the end of 2015 after a dam failure flooded a neighboring village, contaminating a local river in the Minas Gerais state and resulting in the death of at least 17 people.

At the end of June, BHP Billiton said there is little chance that Samarco would resume operations in 2017.

"A resumption of Samarco operations depends on separate regulatory approvals, and this will occur only when it is safe, economically viable and supported by the community," BHP Billiton said at the time.

Samarco's resumption still requires government approvals and state licenses, as well as a restructuring of its debt.