BHP Confirms 17 Dead In Samarco Dam Breach

(RTTNews) - BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AX, BLT.L, BBL, BHP) Tuesday confirmed that 17 people were dead, following the breach of the Fundão tailings dam and Santarém water dam at the Samarco Mineração S.A iron ore operation in Minas Gerais, Brazil which occurred on November 5. BHP Billiton and Vale each hold a 50 percent interest in Samarco.

The deceased include five members of the community and 12 people who were working on the dams at the time of the breach. In addition, two people who were working on the dams remain unaccounted for.

BHP said Samarco continues to work with the government authorities in Brazil to relocate displaced people from temporary accommodation to rented housing, and to distribute living wage debit cards to the impacted. Further, BHP said the Federal Court ordered Samarco to deposit BRL 2 billion to a Court-managed bank account within 30 days. This amount comprises 10 percent of the total amount sought by the plaintiffs to be included in a fund.

The amounts must be used to pay for the community and environmental rehabilitation. A daily fine of BRL 1.5 million applies to Samarco for non-compliance with this deadline.

BHP Billiton has appointed Flávio Bulcão as Country Director, Brazil, effective immediately. Bulcão will represent the BHP Billiton team in Brazil, joining the project support team based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

He will report to the Chief Commercial Officer, Dean Dalla Valle, who has assumed day-to-day responsibility at a Group Management Committee level for BHP Billiton's response to the Samarco dam breach. Bulcão has extensive experience in the metals and mining industry, as he has held a number of senior executive roles with BHP Billiton in Brazil.