In mining, there are several deadlines and obligations that miners must comply with. In order to organize this information, we have written this text, which details the main deadlines that you should be aware of.
Fixed Deadlines
Fixed deadlines are those that must be met annually and have a set date. The three main ones are: payment of the Annual Fee per Hectare (TAH), submission of the Annual Mining Report (RAL) and the Declaration of Investment in Mineral Research (DIPEM). Learn a little more about each one:
TAH
The TAH – Annual Fee per Hectare was established by Law No. 7,886, of November 20, 1989 , and later amended by Law No. 9,314, of November 14, 1996. The current wording of this provision treats the TAH as the fee due by all miners who hold mineral exploration permits , and must be paid until the delivery of the final exploration report. This fee is exclusive to the authorization regime.
Payment of the TAH must be made within the following deadlines:
- Until the last business day of January , for research authorizations and respective term extensions, published in the Official Gazette in the period from July 1 to December 31 of the previous year , and
- Until the last business day of July, for research authorizations and deadline extensions, published in the Official Gazette in the period from January 1 to June 30 of the same year .
Do you still have any questions about the rate? Read our article: What is the Annual Rate per Hectare (TAH) and how to make the payment.
RAL
The Annual Mining Report (RAL), required by current legislation, in Art.67 of the ANM Normative Consolidation attached to Ordinance No. 155 of May 12, 2016 , is the document in which information on the activities carried out by the miner in the previous year is declared, such as mining, processing, updating of resources and reserves, consumer market, labor, among others .
Submission is mandatory and must be done by all holders or lessees of mining titles and usage guides , regardless of the operational status of the mine (active or not). The deadlines for declaring the RAL are:
- Until March 15th of each year : for mine manifest, mining decree, mining ordinance, mining group, mining consortium, license registration with economic use plan approved by ANM, prospecting mining permit, extraction registration and titled areas with usage guide.
- Until March 31 of each year: miners who have licensing titles without the Economic Use Plan (PAE).
Find out more at: ANNUAL MINING REPORT (RAL): what you need to know
DIPEM
The Declaration of Investment in Mineral Research – DIPEM, established by Ordinance No. 519 , DOU of 12/11/2013, requires, through a specific form, the presentation of information regarding investments made in mineral research in the previous year. It must be declared by all holders of research permits.
The deadline for submitting the form is April 30th of each year .
Variable Deadlines
In addition to the fixed deadlines, there are deadlines that vary according to the mineral exploitation regimes and the factors provided for in each of them. Below, check the main formalities and their respective deadlines to be met by exploitation regime.
Authorization Regime
According to Decree No. 10,965 , the Authorization regime is intended for mineral research activities, granted by an act of the ANM. This regime precedes the concession regime.
In this category, the miner must submit a Research Request , which aims to carry out research work and define a deposit within a period of 2 or 3 years , i.e. qualify, quantify and spatially locate the mineral substance of interest. It is worth noting that this period can be extended for the same period of 2 or 3 years.
Find out about the other deadlines established in this regime:
Research initiation notice
According to Article 29 of the Mining Code , the holder of the research authorization is required, under penalty of sanctions, to communicate the start or restart of research work , as well as its interruption. As soon as the Research Permit is published in the Official Gazette of the Union, the miner has the following deadlines to communicate the information to the ANM:
- Up to 60 days after the publication of the Research Permit in the Official Gazette of the Union , if the holder is the owner of the land or has agreed with the latter the value and form of payment of the compensation referred to in article 27 of the Mining Code; or,
- Up to 60 days after the judicial entry into the research area , when the assessment of compensation for the occupation and damages caused will be processed in court.
Partial Research Report (Renewal)
According to Art.22 of the Mining Code, to renew the authorization title, the miner must request the extension of the permit up to 60 days before the expiration of the current authorization term , and must present the partial research report (RPP) to the ANM together with the justification for continuing the research.
Final research report
Regarding the final research report (RFP), Art.25 of Decree 9406/2018 establishes that upon completing the research work, the holder must submit a final research report to the ANM , as provided for in the ANM Resolution.
The deadline for submitting the report is based on the validity period of the License , i.e., if the License is valid for two years, the holder has up to that period to submit the report. Likewise, if the License is valid for three years, the miner must submit the RFP within three years.
It is worth noting that regardless of the positive or negative result of the mineral research, the presentation of the RFP is mandatory .
Also according to the third paragraph of Art. 25, if the term of validity of the authorization or its extension ends, and the holder fails to submit the report referred to in this article, the transcription of the research authorization title will be cancelled and the area will be declared available for research, in the manner provided for in art. 26 of Decree-Law No. 227 of 1967 – Mining Code, without prejudice to the provisions of art. 55 of Decree 9406/2018.
Total Waiver – No RFP
As previously stated, the submission of the final research report (RFP) to the ANM is mandatory regardless of whether the researched area has potential or not. However, the total relinquishment of the area, without submitting the RFP, may be made when submitted before 1/3 (one third) of the validity period of the research authorization has elapsed , counted from the publication of the title, according to Art. 97 of Ordinance 155/2016 .
Total waiver without RFP is a strategic alternative when the miner no longer has an interest in the area or the result of the mineral research is negative. This is because it will not be necessary to prepare the RFP and there will be no TAH cost.
Mining Concession Application
From the date of approval of the final research report, the holder will have up to one year to request the mining concession. Article 28 of Decree 9406/2018 provides that the ANM may extend the term, for the same period, by means of a justified request from the holder, submitted before the initial term or the current extension ends.
If the holder or his successor does not submit the application within the deadline, his right will expire and it will be up to the ANM to declare, by means of a notice, the availability of the investigated deposit, for the purposes of requesting a mining concession.
Concession Regime
The concession regime is intended for mineral mining activities preceded by research, granted by an act of the Minister of State for Mines and Energy, or of the ANM, in the event that the concession has as its object the mineral substances referred to in art. 1 of Law No. 6,567 of 1978. Within this regime, the main deadlines to be met are :
Imposition of possession
Within 90 days after publication of the Mining Ordinance in the Official Gazette of the Union, the granting of possession of the deposit must be requested from the ANM, under penalty of fines if the request is not made within the deadline.
This administrative formality consists of georeferencing, demarcation and establishment of delimiting markers of the area granted by means of a Mining Ordinance for mineral exploration, precisely defining the location and space of the deposit/mine. It is an obligation provided for in Articles 44 and 45 of Decree-Law 227/1967 – Mining Code.
The request for possession implies payment of no. 9-REQUEST FOR POSSESSION.
Mine closure plan
The legislation regarding the mine closure plan (PFM) was updated by ANM Resolution No. 68 , published on April 30, 2021.
As provided in Art. 3, from the publication of this Resolution , mining enterprises with valid and operating mining authorization titles have up to twelve months to present an updated PFM. Therefore, until April 30, 2022.
Once the PFM has been submitted, it must be updated every five years or when the PAE is updated , whichever occurs first, presenting any changes that have occurred in the plan during this period.
According to Art.11 of the Resolution, enterprises with mining authorization titles valid for less than five years and/or with an expected end date of their mining activities in less than two years are exempt from the obligation to update the PFM , and are required to provide proof of execution of the PFM.
Licensing Regime
The Licensing Regime can be used for substances that are immediately used in construction. Under this regime, the mine closure plan must also be submitted . In addition, there are two other deadlines that you should be aware of: submission of the environmental license and request for extension of the license title .
Environmental license
According to Art. 166 of Ordinance No. 155, OF MAY 12, 2016 , the applicant has up to 60 days , counted from the filing of the license registration application, to present the environmental installation or operation license to the ANM. The holder may also prove, by means of a copy of the protocol of the competent environmental agency, that he/she filed the environmental licensing application, waiving any requirement on the part of the ANM, under penalty of rejection of the license registration application.
Extension of license title
According to Art.182 of the same ordinance, the license holder has until the last day of the validity of the title or the previous extension to file the extension request with the ANM.
Prospecting Mining Permit Regime
The Prospecting Mining Permit Regime applies to prospecting mineral substances , such as gold, diamonds, cassiterite, columbite, tantalite and wolframite, exclusively in alluvial, eluvial and colluvial forms. In the same way as the previous regime, the mine closure plan must be presented.
The deadlines involved in this regime are:
Start of Extraction Works
As provided for in Art. 9 of Law No. 7,805, OF JULY 18, 1989 , it is the duty of the prospecting mining permit holder to begin extraction work within 90 days after publication of the title in the Official Gazette of the Union, unless there is a justified reason.
Declaration of Suitability and Environmental License
According to Art.206 of Ordinance No. 155, OF MAY 12, 2016 , after the final analysis of the application by the ANM, a declaration will be issued stating that the applicant is eligible to receive the PLG title. The declaration will be sent to the applicant by means of an official letter with acknowledgment of receipt.
Therefore, the miner has up to 60 days from receipt of the declaration to prove that he/she has filed a license application with the competent environmental agency.
Extension of title
To extend the PLG title, the prospector must file the renewal request by the last day of the title's validity period (up to 5 years) , as stated in Art.211 of Ordinance 155.
Throughout this text, we have listed the main deadlines that every miner needs to know. Do you still have questions about this subject? Count on DMT to advise you on each stage of your Mining Process!
References:
Ataíde, Pedro. Mining Law – 3rd rev. ed., current and expanded. – Salvador: Ed. Juspodivm, 2020. 304 p.
https://www.dnpm-pe.gov.br/Legisla/Port_503_99.htm
https://www.dnpm-pe.gov.br/Legisla/cm_02.htm
https://www.gov.br/anm/pt-br/assuntos/acesso-a-sistemas/relatorio-anual-de-lavra-ral-1
https://www.dnpm-pe.gov.br/Legisla/CN_DNPM.htm
https://cscambiental.com.br/dipem-o-que-e-quem-deve-declarar-e-qual-o-prazo/
https://www.gov.br/anm/pt-br/acesso-a-informacao/perguntas-frequentes/imissao-de-posse