Brazil, Samarco Near Deal After Deadly Dam Disaster

Brazil's government and Samarco Mineração will announce Monday the settlement of a lawsuit for damages caused by a deadly dam spill at a mine in November, Brazilian Attorney General Luis Inacio Adams told Reuters Friday.

Officials and executives met Friday to finalize the deal, which the attorney general's office said was 95 percent complete.

"We should make the announcement on Monday," Adams said in a text message.

Regarded as Brazil's worst environmental disaster, the burst dam killed 19 people, forced hundreds to leave their homes and polluted one of the country's main rivers.

On Thursday evening, Brazil's O Globo newspaper published a column saying Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton, had committed to providing 4.4 billion reais ($1.1 billion) between 2016 and 2018, and additional funds for another seven years.

That would be much lower than the 20 billion reais the government was originally seeking when it first filed the lawsuit.

A source close to the negotiations confirmed the figures were being discussed but told Reuters nothing had been signed yet.

Samarco took the first step Friday to resume operations in the area by requesting licensing to store mining tailings, a Minas Gerais state environmental official said.

BHP said earlier Friday that significant progress had been made with the negotiations, and it was hopeful that an agreement would be reached.

"If and when that happens, an announcement will be made," BHP said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

($1 = 3.9546 Brazilian reais.)