Brazilian mining agency accused of negligence in regulations

By Jadson Lima – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) has accused the National Mining Agency (ANM) of negligence for failing to establish criteria that differentiate mineral research activities from artisanal mining in Brazil. According to the institution, the absence of specific regulations has allowed research authorizations to be used for illegal mineral extraction, resulting in severe socio-environmental impacts and hindering the work of environmental agencies in inspection processes.

This information is part of a Public Civil Action (ACP) filed by the institution against the agency in the 7th Federal Environmental and Agrarian Court of the Judicial Section of Amazonas. The document, dated February 7 of this year, was signed by federal prosecutors André Luiz Porreca Ferreira Cunha and Sofia Freitas da Silva. A request for an injunction was submitted after the ANM refused to comply with an MPF recommendation in November last year, which called for regulatory measures.

According to the MPF, the agency’s failure to regulate technical criteria distinguishing mineral research from artisanal mining constitutes a “failure in the exercise of the state’s regulatory authority” and compromises effective oversight, allowing illegal practices to persist. The ACP requests that the Federal Court set a 120-day deadline for technical studies necessary to draft the regulation, with objective parameters to differentiate mineral research from artisanal mining.

“Given the ANM’s failure to adequately regulate the distinction between mineral research and artisanal mining, judicial intervention becomes necessary and legitimate to ensure the integrity of the mining regime and environmental protection. The judiciary’s control over such omission does not violate the principle of separation of powers but rather enforces the constitutional requirement that public administration act efficiently and transparently,” states a section of the document.

The MPF highlights that the unchecked expansion of illegal mining, especially in the Legal Amazon, causes irreversible environmental damage, including deforestation, water pollution, mercury contamination, sedimentation, and wildlife displacement. It also facilitates criminal activities linked to clandestine mineral extraction.

“The lack of objective assessment parameters hampers inspection efficiency and contributes to the persistence of an illegal and unconstitutional situation in the Brazilian Amazon, where research titles are indiscriminately used as a legal loophole for mining activities without any environmental impact assessment,” the MPF asserts.

The MPF has also requested the court to implement additional measures, including:

• Technical and operational definitions of the equipment permitted for mineral research and artisanal mining;
• Setting quantitative limits for each mineral research authorization, restricted to research needs;
• Criteria for identifying vessels used in each activity;
• Periodic proof that extraction meets the criteria established in the approved technical-economic plan.

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Edited by Izaías Godinho
Translated from Portuguese by Gustô Alves