BHP has reached an agreement to settle the Australian Samarco shareholder class action. The settlement is subject to approval by the Federal Court of Australia.
The Australian shareholder class action was brought on behalf of shareholders who acquired BHP shares before the Fundão Dam failure. The class action was filed in the Federal Court of Australia in 2018 on behalf of persons who acquired shares in BHP Group Limited or BHP Group Plc (now BHP Group (UK) Ltd) during the period 8 August 2012 to 9 November 2015 (the Applicants).
The Fundão Dam was owned and operated by Samarco Mineração S.A. (Samarco), a non-operated joint venture between BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda (BHP Brasil) (a subsidiary of BHP Group Limited) and Vale S.A. Each of BHP Brasil and Vale holds 50 per cent of Samarco.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, BHP has agreed to pay the Applicants AU$110 million, inclusive of interests and costs, with no admission of liability. BHP expects to recover the majority of the settlement amount from its insurers.
