BRAZIL Trends and Developments Contributed by: Tiago de Mattos Silva and Bruno Costa, William Freire Advogados Associados
cles to overcome before a full and effective cul - ture of rule-making based on good regulatory governance is embraced. There were few significant regulatory changes in the mining sector in 2024, it was instead a year of consolidation for regulations established in previous years. However, some areas, high - lighted below, saw important developments. The eighth round of auctions for mineral exploration areas Continuing the process initiated in 2020, with the regulation of the new process for offering areas through public offers and electronic auc - tions, the ANM conducted the eighth round of auctions. It made over 3,000 individual mineral exploration areas available to the market. The round generated approximately BRL620 million in aggregate bid value, encompassing areas in various Brazilian states and a wide range of min - eral substances. Dam safety: continuation of regulatory improvement Law 14.066/2020 updated the PNSB in order to prevent future disasters. The use of the upstream tailings dam model was prohibited by the new law. The new safety measures include fines of up to BRL1 billion in the case of disasters caused by dam collapses and the mandatory drafting of emergency action plans. In 2022, the ANM published Directive 95/2022, which defined the regulatory measures applica - ble to mining dams pursuant to the PNSB. This is a complex and strict standard that involves many issues related to the construction, opera - tion and closure of tailings dams, as well as the management of the related safety issues.
The standard introduced many modifications to the legislation in force, such as alteration to the criteria for classification as high-risk and the def - inition of the emergency level. Regarding obliga - tions applicable to dams with a high associated damage potential, an engineer of record must be designated. This person is responsible for evaluating the structure and continually issuing reports that deal with the safety of the structure, considering the entire life cycle of the dam. The consolidation of a new regulatory bench - mark in the management of dam safety, initiated via alterations to the PNSB in 2020 and detailed in ANM Resolution 95/2022 has transformed Brazil into one of the jurisdictions with the strict - est standards in the world relating to social and environmental safety and protection. This regulation, which integrates global best practices and is internationally recognised for its technical rigour, underwent some modifica - tions in 2024. These changes focused primarily on technical concepts, risk categories, periodic reporting, audit governance, and the process for submitting documents. The updates aimed to simplify certain procedures and adjust some technical requirements without substantially altering the core regulation. Amendments to Regulatory Standard 22 (NR 22): occupational health and safety in mining The Ministry of Labour and Employment (MTE) issued successive ordinances in 2024 that approved the revised text of Regulatory Stand - ard 22 (NR 22), concerning occupational health and safety in mining. The new version introduced significant changes for the sector, particularly regarding tailings and waste disposal structures.
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