In mining there are various deadlines and obligations that miners must fulfil. In order to organise this information, we have written this text detailing the main deadlines you should be aware of.
25 de Março de 2022
In mining there are various deadlines and obligations that miners must fulfil. In order to organise this information, we have written this text detailing the main deadlines you should be aware of.
The three main deadlines are: payment of the Annual Hectare Fee (TAH), submission of the Annual Mining Report (RAL) and the Mineral Research Investment Declaration (DIPEM). Find out more about each one:
The TAH - Taxa Anual por Hectare (Annual Fee per Hectare) was instituted by Law 7886 of 20 November 1989, and later amended by Law 9314 of 14 November 1996. The current wording of this provision treats the TAH as the instalment due by all miners who have mineral exploration permits, and it must be paid until the final exploration report is delivered. This fee is exclusive to the authorisation regime.
The TAH must be paid within the following deadlines:
Still have any questions about the fee? Visit our article: What is the Annual Fee per Hectare (TAH) and how to make the payment.
The Annual Mining Report (RAL), imposed by current legislation, in Article 67 of the ANM Regulatory Consolidation annexed to Ordinance No. 155 of 12 May 2016 The Annual Mining Report (RAL) is the document in which information is declared on the activities carried out by the miner in the previous year, such as mining, processing, updating resources and reserves, the consumer market, labour, among others.
Submission is mandatory and must be done by all holders or lessees of mining titles and utilisation permits, regardless of the mine's operational status (active or not). The deadlines for declaring the RAL are:
Find out more at: ANNUAL LABOUR REPORT (RAL): what you need to know.
The Declaration of Investment in Mineral Research - DIPEM, instituted by Ordinance No. 519 DOU of 11/12/2013, requires the submission of information on investments made in mineral research in the previous year using a specific form. It must be declared by all holders of exploration licences.
The deadline for submitting the form is 30 April each year.
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 are the main formalities and their respective deadlines to be met by exploitation regime.
According to Decree 10.965 the Authorisation regime is intended for mineral exploration activities, granted by ANM. This regime precedes the concession regime.
In this category, the miner must submit a Research Application , the aim of which is to carry out the research work and define a deposit, i.e. qualify, quantify and spatially locate the mineral substance of interest, within a period of 2 or 3 years. It is worth noting that this deadline can be extended for the same period of 2 or 3 years.
Find out about the other deadlines established in this regime:
According to Article 29 of theMining Codethe holder of the exploration authorisation is obliged, under penalty of sanctions, to communicate the start or restart of exploration work , as well as its interruption. As soon as the Research Licence is published in the Federal Official Gazette, the miner has the following deadlines for notifying the ANM:
Within 60 days of entering the exploration area in court, when the assessment of compensation for occupation and damage caused is processed in court.
According to Article 22 of the Mining Code, in order to renew the authorisation, the miner must apply for an extension of the permit no later than 60 days before the expiry of the current authorisation, and must submit to the ANM the partial research report (RPP) together with the justification for continuing the research.
Regarding the final research report (RFP), the Article 25 of Decree 9406/2018 establishes that on completion of the research work, the holder must submit a final research report to the ANM, in accordance with the provisions of an ANM Resolution.
The deadline for submitting the report is based on the period of validity of the licence, i.e. if the licence is for two years, the holder has until that period to submit the report. Similarly, if the licence is valid for three years, the miner must submit the RFP within three years.
It is worth emphasising that regardless of the positive or negative outcome of the mineral survey, the submission of the RFP is mandatory.
Also according to the third paragraph of Article 25, if the term of the permit or its extension ends and the holder fails to submit the report referred to in this article, the transcription of the research permit title will be cancelled and the area will be declared available for research, as provided for in Article 26 of Decree-Law No. 227 of 1967 - Mining Code, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 55 of Decree 9406/2018.
As previously stated, it is compulsory to submit the final research report (RFP) to the ANM, regardless of whether the area being researched has potential or not. However, the total renunciation of the area, without submitting the RFP , can be done when submitted before 1/3 (one third) of the term of the research authorisation has elapsed, counting from the publication of the title, according to Art.97 of Ordinance 155/2016.
Total renunciation without RFP is a strategic alternative when the miner no longer has an interest in the area or the result of the mineral survey is negative. This is because it will not be necessary to prepare an RFP and there will be no TAH cost.
From the date of approval of the final research report, the holder will have up to one year to apply for the mining concession. Article 28 of Decree 9406/2018 states that the ANM may extend the deadline for an equal period, by means of a justified request from the holder, submitted before the initial deadline or the current extension expires.
If the holder or its successor does not submit the application within the deadline, its right will lapse and it will be up to the ANM to declare, by means of a public notice, the availability of the surveyed deposit, for the purposes of applying for a mining concession.
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:
Within 90 days of the publication of the Mining Ordinance in the Federal Official Gazette, the imposition of possession of the deposit must be requested from the ANM, under penalty of fines if the request is not made on time.
This administrative formality consists of geo-referencing work, demarcation and the setting of demarcation marks in the area granted a Mining Ordinance for mineral exploration, precisely defining the location and space of the deposit/mine. This is an obligation laid down in Articles 44 and 45 of Decree-Law 227/1967 - the Mining Code.
Applying for possession implies payment of the nº 9-REQUEST FOR IMMISSION OF POSSESSION.
The legislation regarding the mine closure plan (PFM) was updated by ANM Resolution No. 68 published on 30 April 2021.
As stated in Art. 3, as of the publication of this Resolution, mining projects with mining authorisation titles in force and in operation have up to twelve months to submit an updated PFM. That means until 30 April 2022.
Once the PFM has been submitted, it must be updated every five years or when the PAE whichever comes first, presenting the changes that have occurred in the plan during this period.
According to Art. 11 of the Resolution, undertakings with mining licences valid for less than five years and/or with mining activities expected to end in less than two years are exempt from the obligation to update the PFM, but are obliged to provide proof that the PFM has been carried out.
The Licensing Regime can be used for substances for immediate use in construction. Under this regime, the mine closure plan must also be submitted. In addition to this, there are two other deadlines you should be aware of: submission of the environmental licence and application for extension of the licence title.
According to Article 166 of Ordinance No. 155, OF 12 MAY 2016 According to Article 166, the applicant has up to 60 days from the filing of the licence registration application to submit the environmental installation or operating licence to the ANM. The holder can also prove, by means of a copy of the protocol of the competent environmental agency, that it has filed the environmental licensing application, without any requirement on the part of the ANM, under penalty of rejection of the licence registration application.
According to Article 182 of the same decree, the licence holder has until the last day of the validity of the licence or the previous extension to file the extension request with the ANM.
The Garimpeiro Mining Permit Regime applies to garimpable mineral substances such as gold, diamonds, cassiterite, columbite, tantalite and wolframite, exclusively in the alluvial, eluvial and colluvial forms. As with the previous regime, the mine closure plan must be submitted.
The deadlines involved in this regime are:
As stated in Article 9 of Law 7.805 OF 18 JULY 1989 it is the duty of the mining licence holder to start extraction work within 90 days of publication of the licence in the Federal Official Gazette, unless there is a justified reason.
In accordance with Art. 206 of Ordinance No. 155, OF 12 MAY 2016 Once the application has been finally analysed by the ANM, a declaration will be issued that the applicant is eligible to receive the PLG title. The declaration will be sent to the applicant by letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
As a result, the miner has up to 60 days from receipt of the declaration to prove that he has filed the licence application with the competent environmental agency.
In order to extend the PLG licence, the miner must file the renewal application by the last day of the licence's validity period (up to 5 years), as stated in Article 211 of Ordinance 155.
Throughout this text, we have listed the main deadlines that every miner needs to know. If you still have questions on this subject, you can count on DMT to advise you at every stage of your Mining Process!
Ataíde, Pedro. Mining Law - 3 ed.rev, atual e ampl. - 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