Samarco, a joint venture between Vale SA and BHP Group, on Friday won permission to resume operations at their Germano iron ore mine, the environmental regulator of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais said, roughly four years after a fatal dam collapse there, Reuters reported. Vale said in a separate release that it expected production at the joint venture, which is trying to restructure $3.8 billion in debt it defaulted on about a year after the accident, to resume toward the end of 2020.

At least three potential bidders have expressed an interest in buying two soy processing plants put up for sale by Brazilian grain crusher Imcopa Importação, Exportação e Indústria de Óleos SA, two sources familiar with the bidding process told Reuters. The bidders are U.S.-based Bunge Inc; CJ Selecta, owned by South Korea’s CJ Cheiljedang; and the local unit of Russia’s Sodrugestvo, according to the sources, who requested anonymity this week to discuss the confidential process, Reuters reported.

A bankruptcy court in Paraná state has scheduled an auction to sell two plants belonging to Brazilian soy processor Imcopa International SA on Dec. 4, the company said on Friday, Reuters reported. Imcopa, one of the largest non-genetically modified soy crushers in Brazil, said the sale of the plants in the towns of Araucária and Cambé was foreseen in its reorganization plan approved by creditors in 2017. In a statement, privately owned Imcopa said the ruling was handed down on Thursday by Judge Mariana Gusso. The company declined to comment further.

Brazilian renewable energy firm Renova Energia SA has filed for bankruptcy protection, aiming to restructure a total debt of around 3.1 billion reais ($741.70 million), it said in a securities filing on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The bankruptcy filing comes two days after key shareholder Light SA sold its 17.17% stake in Renova to an investment fund for a symbolic value of 1 real, in a decision that followed failed talks to sell heavily indebted wind farm projects.

Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA’s advisors plan to propose a delay in the bankruptcy plan vote by creditors, two people with knowledge of the matter said, Reuters reported. Odebrecht is likely to schedule a creditors assembly on Nov. 18 to comply with Brazilian bankruptcy protection rules, but so far there is not a concrete proposal to vote on, the sources added, asking for anonymity to disclose private discussions. Creditors presented objections to Odebrecht’s plan this month.

Airline bankruptcies have increased this year at the fastest ever rate, led by the collapse of India’s Jet Airways, British travel group Thomas Cook and Avianca of Brazil, according to industry data published on Friday, Reuters reported. “2019 has seen the fastest growth in airline failure in history,” said airline consulting firm IBA, which has tracked plane fleets returned to lessors or administrators by 17 carriers that have gone bust so far this year.

Creditors of Brazilian oil platforms and rigs maker Sete Brasil have approved the sale of four oil exploration rigs to British company Magni Partners, two sources familiar with the deal told Reuters on Friday, Reuters reported. The rigs sold are named Urca, Frade, Arpoador and Guarapari. The four rigs have a 10-year leasing contract with Petrobras , which will pay $299,000 per day for each rig when operational, one of the sources said. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had no information regarding total value of the deal.

Brazilian state bank Caixa Economica Federal has filed a legal motion requesting the liquidation of engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA, according to court documents seen by Reuters, in what could be a dramatic end to the graft-plagued company, Reuters reported. Caixa also demanded that creditors appoint new management at the conglomerate and its subsidiaries if the judge does not order the company’s liquidation. The move by Caixa adds pressure on Odebrecht to restructure its debts in one of Latin America’s largest-ever bankruptcy cases.

Oi SA’s top executives have a message for investors and analysts pushing the company to sell more assets or take on more debt: Back off. The Brazilian phone company -- now in the final stages of a $19 billion debt restructuring -- has various options to raise capital but won’t make any decisions under pressure, Chief Operational Officer Rodrigo Abreu and Chief Executive Officer Eurico Teles said in an interview, Bloomberg News reported.

Brazilian state-run development bank BNDES is facing losses of up to 14.6 billion reais ($3.5 billion) from loans made to conglomerate Odebrecht SA, which has been in bankruptcy protection since June, the bank said on Monday, Reuters reported. Of this total, 3.7 billion reais is related to federal government losses on export financing credits, and 8.7 billion reais is loans to companies under the Odebrecht Group umbrella, the BNDES said in a statement on its website.