Samarco mine restart threatened by request to protect forest

The Samarco iron-ore mine in Brazil is facing one more obstacle to restarting operations later this year after a court accepted a request by prosecutors to protect a forested area that encompasses a pit the venture had planned to use for storing waste. The BHP Billiton-Vale joint venture had hoped to resume operations later this year after a 2015 dam collapse that killed as many as 19 people. The company’s ability to service about $4-billion in debt obligations hinges on the restart.