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Samarco filing of judicial reorganisation
BHP Group Plc
Registration number 3196209
Registered in England and Wales
Share code: BHP
ISIN: GB00BH0P3Z91
NEWS RELEASE
Release Time IMMEDIATE
Date 9 April 2021
Release Number 04/21
Samarco filing of judicial reorganisation
On 9 April 2021, Samarco Mineração S.A. (Samarco) announced that it filed for
judicial reorganisation (JR) with the Commercial Courts of Belo Horizonte, State of
Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Samarco’s JR filing is a last-resort response to multiple legal actions filed by certain
Samarco financial creditors in the U.S. and Brazil which have resulted in freezing
orders against Samarco’s accounts and which threaten Samarco’s operations. It was
filed after unsuccessful attempts by Samarco to negotiate a debt restructure with
these creditors. Samarco’s shareholders, BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda (BHP Brasil) and
Vale S.A (Vale), support Samarco’s JR filing in this context.
The JR is a means for Samarco to restructure its financial debts in order to establish
a sustainable independent financial position in order for Samarco to continue to
rebuild its operations safely and meet its Renova Foundation (Renova) obligations.
Samarco’s restarted operations provide jobs, local economic activity and community
support as well as continuing the remediation and compensation programs underway
through the legally approved programs. Samarco’s operations will continue through
the JR and restructure process.
The JR does not affect Samarco’s obligation or commitment to make full redress for
the 2015 Fundão dam failure, and it does not impact Renova’s ability to undertake
that remediation and compensation.
The extensive work undertaken by Renova will continue. Renova has spent
approximately R$12.2 billion (approximately US$3 billion (1)) on its remediation and
compensation programs. Compensation and financial assistance of approximately
R$3.5 billion (approximately US$870 million) has been paid to support approximately
320,000 people affected by the Fundão dam failure. In addition, more than 10,000
claims have been settled over the seven months to March 2021 under the court-
mandated “Novel payment” system designed to ensure compensation for claimants
who had struggled to prove their damages in the most informal sectors of the
economy across 23 territories.
Samarco, BHP Brasil and Vale expect to continue negotiations in the coming months
with the Brazilian authorities on the programs undertaken by Renova to progress
settlement of the R$155 billion public civil claim commenced by the Federal
Prosecutors Office against BHP Brasil, Vale and Samarco.
BHP Brasil and Vale S.A. each hold a 50 per cent interest in Samarco.
Further information on the JR can be found at samarco.com.
(1) USD amount is calculated based on actual transactional (historical) exchange
rates related to Renova funding.
Sponsor: UBS South Africa (Pty) Limited
Authorised for lodgement by:
Stefanie Wilkinson
Group Company Secretary
Media Relations Investor Relations
Email: media.relations@bhp.com Email: investor.relations@bhp.com
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BHP Group Limited ABN 49 004 028 077 BHP Group plc Registration number 3196209
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Date: 12-04-2021 07:05:00
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