The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) asked the National Mining Agency (ANM) to issue rules that require clear differentiation between research activities and those with commercial purposes, anywhere in the country. The objective is to curb attempts to present authorizations to the authorities that only allow exploration to investigate whether there are deposits as if they were authorizations, to skip the step and start ore extractions.
The deadline established by the MPF for the publication of standards by ANM is 90 days. The agency must respond to the demand, stating whether it will comply with the request, within 30 days.
As highlighted by the MPF, the main reasons behind the request are the fight against illegal mining and the socio-environmental impacts caused by the activity. One of the aspects that help teams of environmental agents and police in combating illegal activities is knowing how to distinguish the machinery of the two types of activity.
Currently, all that is needed is a simplified authorization that allows the verification of the economic potential of a given deposit, when the indicated interest is mineral research. In the case of mining, that is, the commercial exploitation of ore, it is necessary to obtain an environmental license and permission from ANM, which is more complex.
The MPF defends that the standards adopted by the ANM include at least the following guidelines:
• Technical and operational definition of equipment permitted for research and mining;
• Establishment of quantitative limits for each mineral research authorization, limited to the research needs;
• Criteria for identifying the vessels used in each activity;
• Requirement of periodic proof that the extraction meets the criteria established in the approved technical-economic plan.
THE Brazil Agency contacted ANM and keeps the space open for the agency to express its views.
