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BHP Group Ltd on Friday said the Federal Court of Australia has approved a settlement linked to the Brazilian dam collapse. Early in September, the Melbourne, Australia-based diversified mining company agreed to settle the Australian shareholder class action over the Samarco Mineracao SA joint venture in Brazil for A$110 million, or $72 million. The court approval in Australia comes after BHP and its joint-venture partner Vale SA in October last year reached an agreement with Brazilian authorities that would see the two mining groups pay R$170 billion, or $31.7 billion, related to the dam collapse in 2015. The tailings dam was operated by Samarco Mineracao SA, a 50-50 joint venture of BHP and Vale. BHP said it expects to recover the majority of the Australian settlement amount from its insurers. On Wednesday, the High Court in London rejected BHP’s application that sought to block the latest move by class action firm Pogust Goodhead in ongoing litigation over the 2015 Fundao dam collapse. The English High Court last month found BHP liable for the 2015 Fundao dam disaster, following a five-month first stage trial of the UK group action. Any assessment of damages will be determined in second and third stage trials expected to complete in 2028 or 2029. Shares in BHP were up 2.2% to R 502.99 on Friday morning in Johannesburg. They ended up 0.8% at A$44.84 in Sydney. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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