Iron miner Samarco, a joint venture of Brazil's Vale SA and Australia's BHP Billiton Ltd, expects to obtain next year all licenses needed to resume operations suspended after an environmental disaster, according to a written statement to Reuters on Tuesday.
The environmental agency for Minas Gerais state in Brazil said in a separate statement that it expects to conclude analysis of the licenses in the first half of 2019.
This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
(Reporting by Marta Nogueira Writing by Ana Mano Editing by Jonathan Oatis)