Brazil News

Brazil Mine Disaster Caused by Poor Drainage & Design of Tailings Dam: Report

The deadly collapse of a tailings dam last November at the Samarco mine, owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton, was caused by drainage and design flaws, a report into Brazil’s worst-ever environmental disaster showed on Monday. The 76-page report …

BHP to Fight $6B Civil Claim over Brazil Mining Disaster

BHP Billiton on Friday said it would appeal against the decision by a Brazilian court to reinstate a $6 billion public civil claim over last year’s Samarco iron ore mine disaster. BHP and 50-50 joint-venture partner Vale had agreed on …

AXA Plans Additional Acquisitions in Brazil’s Expanding Insurance Market

AXA SA, France’s largest insurer, is open to more acquisitions to keep expanding in Brazil even as Latin America’s largest economy suffers its deepest recession on record. AXA expects Brazil’s 360 billion-real ($102 billion) insurance market to grow 10 percent …

Samarco, BHP & Vale Agree to Pay $5B in Damages for Brazil Mining Disaster

Mining company Samarco and its owners, BHP Billiton and Vale SA , reached a deal with the Brazilian government on Wednesday to pay an estimated 20 billion reais ($5.1 billion) in damages over 15 years for a deadly dam spill …

Brazil & Samarco Close to Agreeing on Damages from Mining Disaster

Brazil’s government and Samarco Mineracao SA are meeting on Friday to finalize the settlement of a lawsuit for damages caused by a deadly dam spill at a mine in November, with the attorney general’s office saying the accord was 95 …

Brazil’s BB Seguridade Could Deliver Returns Near 60%, Despite Poor Economy

BB Seguridade Participações SA, the insurance unit of state-controlled Banco do Brasil SA, could deliver returns near 60 percent this year even as Brazil’s worst recession in decades hampers growth in underwriting premiums and fans delinquencies, Chief Financial Officer Werner …

Chubb CEO Greenberg Blames Brazil’s Leaders for Exacerbating Economic Woes

Evan Greenberg, the chief executive officer of Chubb Ltd., said Brazilians can blame their country’s leaders, and not just a commodities slump, for the nation’s woes. “The economic environment, the political environment, is very tough,” Greenberg said Wednesday in a …

XL Catlin Appoints 2 P&C Underwriters in Brazil to Help with Strategic Expansion

XL Catlin announced it has strengthened its Brazilian team with two appointments. Patricia Britto has joined as property underwriter and Luiz Carlos Dos Santos as senior casualty underwriter – both based in Sao Paulo. These two appointments are part of …

Brazil Police Accuse Vale, Samarco of Environmental Crime for Mine Disaster

Brazil’s Federal Police accused Vale SA and its Brazilian joint venture with BHP Billiton Ltd of environmental crime related to a November dam collapse that destroyed a city in the country’s southeast and sent waves of toxic mud downstream into …

France’s CNP Assurances in Talks to Buy BTG’s Brazil Insurance Units

French insurer CNP Assurances has entered exclusive talks with Grupo BTG Pactual SA to buy its 51 percent stake in Brazilian insurer Pan Seguros, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. CNP Assurances has offered 1.6 billion Brazilian …