SAO PAULO, April 29 (Reuters) - Vale, BHP

and their joint venture Samarco have presented

Brazilian authorities with a settlement proposal related to

reparations for the 2015 Mariana tailings dam burst, which

killed 19 people and left hundreds homeless.

The proposal foresees a total payment of 127 billion reais

($24.88 billion), including 37 billion reais already disbursed,

the Brazilian mining giant said in a securities filing on

Monday.

The dam collapse at the Samarco iron ore mine near the

town of Mariana in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais

caused a vast flow of mud and mining waste that buried a nearby

village and polluted a major river in November 2015.

Of the remaining amount the companies proposed to disburse,

72 billion reais would be paid to the federal and local

governments over an undisclosed period, Vale said. Some 18

billion reais would be used to settle future obligations.

Vale had previously said that it expected to reach a final

agreement regarding the collapse of the dam by the end of the

first half of 2024.

"The companies and authorities remain committed to

advancing negotiations and approving a definitive agreement,"

Vale said. "The proposal is intended to provide a mutually

beneficial resolution for all parties."

Vale and BHP struck an

initial deal

over the disaster in 2016 which created a foundation to

implement reparations but had a complicated chronology for

payments and left space for a final definitive agreement.

Vale said that as of March 2024, 17 billion reais had

been paid to more than 430,000 people and about 85% of the

resettlement cases for the communities affected had been

completed.

($1 = 5.1037 reais)