The proceeds will be used for environmental cleanup in the Rio Doce valley.
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The deadly deluge quickly flooded villages and contaminated rivers in south-eastern Brazil, with 11 people killed and 12 others still reported missing.
Vale, the world’s largest iron ore miner, and BHP, the world’s largest mining company, are co-owners of the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil’s Minas Gerais region.
Samarco said in a statement that both pre- and post-disaster tests show the mud released in the dam burst, made up mostly of water, iron oxides and silica or quartz, presents no danger to human health and does not contain water contaminants.
“They will not change chemical composition in water and will behave in the environment like normal soils in the catchment”, BHP said, meaning that any metals in the sediment were non-reactive and would not leach into water.
The state water agency said it found arsenic levels at 10 times above the legal limit and other harmful metals.
BHP said the results of the National Water Agency’s (ANA) and Brazilian Geological Service (CPRM) analysis on November 14 indicate “that concentrations of metals obtained at these sites do not significantly differ” from samples taken in 2010.
The plume arrived at the Atlantic Ocean over the weekend, roughly 800km from Samarco’s dam.
A joint venture between Brazil-based Vale and Australia-based BHP Billiton, Samarco produces around 30 million tonnes of iron ore per year.
John Knox and Baskut Tuncak said: “The steps taken by the Brazilian Government, Vale and BHP Billiton to prevent harm were clearly insufficient”.
The mining waste has travelled approximately 500 kilometres over two weeks to reach the sea, where Samarco has set up nine kilometres to attempt to protect flora and fauna from the mud.
The United Nations statement criticized the slow response of the company in charge of the mine and dam and the Brazilian government for not doing enough.
The company also widened the river mouth to speed up the flow of the mud where the toxins are expected to stretch to a wider area and become diluted.
Samarco was already hit with damages, fines and frozen funds totalling more than $400 million.
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Deutsche Bank analysts estimated earlier this month that the total costs for cleaning up the disaster would reach $1 billion (£662 million), while Credit Suisse said BHP should set aside $400 million to cover potential charges.
