Vale to pay Brazil $674 million in mining taxes

Mining giant Vale (NYSE:VALE) has started paying the Brazilian government $674 million ($1.4 billion real) in a dispute over mining royalties, Business News Americas (subs. required) reported.

The world’s second largest miner, which is caught in a 10-year-old dispute with Brazil’s federal government over royalty payments owed, has agreed to pay three installments of 100 million reais this year and a single payment of 1.1 billion reais in 2013.

Vale’s earnings have been hit especially hard by the sharp drop in iron ore prices this year, resulting from China’s easing economic growth and the resulting weak demand for the steel-making ingredient.

The Brazilian company is the world’s largest iron ore producer. The company is also responsible for over a quarter of global sea-borne iron ore exports.

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