BHP and others propose a settlement plan for mine disaster litigation

International mining giants BHP and Vale have offered to pay $1.4 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit in the UK related to Brazil's worst-ever environmental disaster, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Thursday.

In 2015, the Mariana dam, owned and operated by Samarco, a joint venture between BHP and Vale, located in southeastern Brazil, collapsed. The disaster triggered legal actions from hundreds of thousands of people.

BHP is currently facing a lawsuit in London, with plaintiff lawyers estimating the claim to be as high as £36 billion ($48.29 billion).

The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the settlement proposal offered by the two companies includes approximately $800 million in compensation for victims and $600 million to cover legal fees related to the High Court lawsuit.

The proposal was made during a meeting in New York in June this year with Pogust Goodhead, a UK law firm representing the claimants, and its main financial backer, the US-based Gramercy hedge fund, the report said.

BHP and Vale did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

In October last year, BHP stated that allegations of "prioritizing profits over safety, leading to the disaster" were "far-fetched and unreasonable."