No Restart for Samarco Mine Until Tailings Leaks Fixed

Reuters reported that the Brazilian government won’t allow operations to resume at the Samarco mine until tailings leaks are stopped. The mine is jointly owned by Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) and BHP Billiton Ltd. (ASX:BHP,LSE:BLT,NYSE:BHP).
As quoted in the market news:

The restart depends on authorisation from the Minas Gerais state environmental agency Semad, which told Reuters that the miner needs to find a solution for the leaks from dikes built after the dam burst. Tailings are mineral waste and water sludge left over from mining operations and stored in ponds.
Samarco has taken first steps towards reopening the mine, applying for permission to use old mining pits to store tailings. A permit, however, will only be issued once the leaks are stopped, Semad deputy director Geraldo Abreu said.
Abreu said he expected Samarco to find a solution to the leaks in the six months that it will take to issue a permit.
Federal environmental protection agency Ibama said the leaking was allowing water with above-permitted turbidity levels to flow down to the Rio Doce river.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.