BRAZIL Trends and Developments Contributed by: Clovis Torres, Solange Costa, Antonio Andrade and Clara Souza, Mello Torres
Financial Assurance in Mining Regulatory changes also include measures to ensure that mining operators have the financial capacity to restore areas degraded by mining after operations cease. Financial assurance mechanisms are essential envi - ronmental, social and economic safeguards, ensuring that operators comply with obligations related to site rehabilitation, mine closure and environmental recov - ery, and also serve as instruments to secure financing backed by mining rights. Given the increasing number of abandoned mines and incomplete implementation of Mine Closure Plans (PFMs), the ANM included financial assurance require - ments in its regulatory agenda. The proposal, currently at an advanced stage, would make financial assur - ance mandatory, calculated based on enterprise-spe - cific characteristics and periodically updated in order to ensure the proper and efficient execution of the PFM and mitigate socio-environmental risks arising from the closure of mining activities. The guarantee must correspond to the estimated cost for the full execution of the PFM and be updated peri - odically to reflect any changes in the project or the economic scenario. The objective is to ensure the availability of funds to execute PFMs even in cases of operational disconti - nuity or insolvency. Critical and Strategic Minerals Another major point of debate in Brazil concerns the need for modern and efficient legislation addressing critical and strategic minerals. This topic has gained significant importance due to the growing exploration of critical and strategic miner - als, which are essential for economic and technologi - cal development, particularly because they contain substances that are fundamental to the energy tran - sition and the security of global value chains. Elements such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earths are indispensable for the production of low-carbon technologies, including electric batteries,
electric vehicles, semiconductors and solar panels, all of which are directly associated with sustainable growth. Global demand for these minerals, driven by decar - bonisation goals for 2050, which aim to achieve net- zero greenhouse gas emissions, and by concerns regarding supply-chain security, has elevated Brazil’s importance as a potential leader in responsible min - eral extraction. This scenario requires a regulatory framework that both reduces bureaucratic hurdles and promotes sustainable exploration practices. In Brazil, although there is still no specific regulation dedicated exclusively to critical minerals, Resolu - tion No. 2/2021 of the Ministry of Mines and Energy defines these minerals as those essential to economic sectors, high-tech production and the generation of trade surpluses. According to data published by IBRAM, revenues from critical minerals reached BRL21.6 billion in the first half of 2025, a 41.6% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Given the expansion of global demand and the increasing need for these minerals to enable the energy transition, the production and export of such resources are expected to form an important milestone for the Brazilian economy, reinforcing the country’s strategic position in the international land - scape. To co-ordinate a national strategy, the National Council for Mining Policy (CNPM) was created under Decree No. 11,108/2022 and reinstated in October 2025. The CNPM’s purpose is to advise the President of the Republic on guidelines and requirements aimed at the sustainable development of the mineral sector. In its initial phase, the CNPM identified as priorities the preparation of a new National Mining Plan and the creation of thematic working groups dedicated to strategic matters such as financial aspects, sustain - ability, oversight, and the classification of critical and strategic minerals. Brazil stands out as one of the countries with the greatest potential for the sustainable development of critical and strategic minerals, benefiting from sub - stantial reserves, a consolidated mineral infrastructure
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