The Brazilian government hopes to implement new mining laws to reform the mining industry in the country. The reform package will be presented to the Brazilian Congress later this month or early April, and would go into effect about 110 days later, said the Minister of Mines Fernando Coelho Filho.
The first mining code was conceived to reinvigorate the local mining sector and was introduced in 2009, but it was stalled in Congress in 2013. Now, to facilitate its approval, the project has been divided into two sections that review government royalties and establish a new regulator.
“We are putting the finishing touches on the discussion with the government, and we are close to closing the discussion to send the project to Congress,” said Filho. “If we can send both by the end of March or the end of April, the implementation should take place 90 to 110 days later.”
Management expects mining to grow during 2017 and the National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM) plans to sell some mineral exploration rights of 22,000 throughout Brazil. In addition, the government also plans to offer nine strategic mining concessions in 2017.
Officials from the Brazilian government said Brazil’s mining sector has been “frozen” since 2012 and that the goal is to achieve greater transparency and greater security to reassure investors. Brazil has about 30% of the mining investment per square kilometer of Canada and Australia.
