RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The new duties for holders of mining rights concern the environmental accountability of mining companies and rules requiring facilities to shut down.
The changes stem from the new National Policy on the Security of Dams, passed by Congress in 2020 following the collapse of the Mariana (2015) and Brumadinho (2019) dams, both in the state of Minas Gerais.
Under the decree, mining companies are responsible for the prevention of environmental disasters and the creation of contingency plans should they occur.
The decree also requires that companies must be in charge of the well-being of communities involved and the sustainable development around the mine, as well as of workers’ health and safety.
Should any environmental disaster occur, the rule mandates that “the mine must be shut down and decommissioned in all of its facilities — all tailings dams included.”
The concept of mining activity has also been altered, and now encompasses ore transport and waste storage.
Further modifications stipulate that Brazil’s national mining agency ANM establish “simplified criteria” for the assessment of requests and grants, especially on small-scale enterprises and the use of mineral substances.
Other measures underscore the need for meeting deadlines for prompt execution of mining enterprises. For instance, 60 days were granted for the agency to register the environmental license after it is submitted by the mining company. Should the deadline be missed, the registration turns ineffective.
The document seeks to adapt rules to the Law of Economic Liberty and “bring about improvements in the mineral sector, boosting speed by optimizing procedures, making it more appealing to investors and legally safer, having sustainable development standards as its foundation,” a note from the President’s secretariat-general reads.
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