Samarco Mineracao gets U.S. court recognition of foreign proceedings

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., May 13 – Samarco Mineracao SA gained recognition from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York of its foreign proceedings in one of the commercial courts in Minas Gerais, Brazil, according to an order filed Thursday.

As previously reported, the company said its Chapter 15 filing was necessary to prevent legal actions already underway, such as the enforcement action filed in Brazil with respect to promissory notes totaling $325 million, and actions filed in New York by bondholders of notes maturing in 2022, 2023 and 2024, all of which include requests to attach bank accounts, from affecting Samarco’s business.

Samarco, a joint venture of Vale and BHP Billiton Brasil Ltda., made the request for judicial reorganization primarily with the objective of preserving its recent resumption of operations, jobs and compliance with its socioenvironmental obligations.

The judicial reorganization will establish an organized environment to protect Samarco's assets and to restructure the high level of debt in its capital structure, Vale had said.

Samarco is a Belo Horizonte, Brazil-based mining and iron ore company. The Chapter 15 case number is 21-10754.

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