Samarco Could Resume Operations by Mid-2017

It is "feasible" that iron ore miner Samarco could resume operations by the middle of next year, a senior executive at Brazilian miner Vale SA said on Tuesday.

"It does not make sense that every time there is an accident, as a penalty, the company should cease to exist," Clovis Torres, director of human resources, health and security, sustainability and energy at Vale, said at an event.

In November the collapse of a dam used by Samarco, a joint venture of Vale and BHP Billiton Ltd, left hundreds homeless and triggered Brazil's worst environmental disaster on record.

Reporting by Martha Nogueira; Writing by Bruno Federowski