Brazil court rejects requests to block $15.7bn from Vale, BHP

A Brazilian federal court rejected a request made by the country's solicitor general's office asking that miners Vale, BHP and their joint venture Samarco pay 79.6-billion reais ($15.64-billion) for the 2015 collapse of a tailings dam.

The request had been filed under a civil lawsuit in which the firm had already been ordered to pay the amount in January.